Destiny
by scary miss mary
Summary: MWPP. Join Sirius, James, Remus and Peter in 5th year pranks, conflict and romance.
1. The Journey to Hogwarts

Lily/James fanfic. Set in their 5th year at Hogwarts. Quite a few quotes from, American Pie, Buffy, Cruel Intentions, Austin Powers etc. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling except Tiffany and Amber. 

Chapter One - The Journey to Hogwarts

"Bye mum, bye dad." Lily hugged her parents tightly, her emerald eyes oddly bright with the knowledge that she wouldn't see them for about a year. "I guess this is it." She turned to face her older sister. "Bye then," she smiled at Petunia, who turned away coldly, a look of utter revulsion on her face as she surveyed the few hurrying teenagers carrying owls and large trunks. Lily shot a distressed look towards her parents; they gave her a sympathetic smile, shaking their heads at Petunia's back. 

"Not to worry dear, I'm sure she'll get used to it in time," said her mum. "Now hurry or you'll miss the train." She kissed Lily on the forehead, then before she could blink; Lily had disappeared through the barrier. 

"Lily!" Shouted a familiar voice. Two seconds later, Lily found herself being hugged tightly by a slender girl with waist length blonde hair, who was wearing a very short black dress. "God I've missed you."

"Hey Tiffy," she smiled at her friend. "You've grown," Lily observed. The Tiffany she remembered had been petite, to the point where Sirius Black made jokes about her being a dwarf in disguise. 

"I sure have, so how've you been? You never wrote back," Tiffany's eyebrows narrowed suspiciously. 

"Sorry but I was so busy, plus, Petunia keeps padlocking Minnie's cage. Says she makes to much noise." Lily glanced down at the snowy owl, who had her head tucked under her wing. At the mention of Petunia, Tiffany's nose crinkled in disdain. 

"So how is Tuna? - Petunia?" she said quickly, her amethyst eyes glinting mischievously. Lily sighed. 

"Worse than ever. I really don't know what her problem is; she's taken to calling me a freak now if you'd like to know." 

"As I have said many times before, hex her. And if that doesn't work, you could always get Sirius to play a joke on her." Lily regarded Tiffany with crafty emerald eyes, at her wicked suggestion. 

"You've so got it bad for him," she winked. 

"I don't know what you're suggesting Lillian." Tiffany said a little too innocently. 

"Who's suggesting what?" Came a deep male voice. They turned round simultaneously. Lily's eyes rested on a mop of untidy black hair; she smiled at James Potter who grinned back. Lily had gotten closer to James over the past year. He was so funny and smart, and if she were honest with herself she would admit that she'd fallen for him ages ago, but living in constant denial, Lily didn't realise that. Ouch, Lily's thoughts were interrupted by another tight hug, this time by Sirius Black. "Ow, Sirius HANDS!" She exclaimed as he pinched her backside, cheekily. 

Sirius winked at Lily, kissing her on the cheek. Tiffany and James both looked slightly jealous. 

"So come on, tell me. What were you suggesting Lil?" Asked Sirius curiously. "I think I heard my name mentioned." 

"I think she was suggesting that you should get bent and die. No, wait a minute, that was me," Tiffany smiled ever so sweetly, looking almost angelic. Sirius grinned at her, oh how they loved to torment each other. 

"And how's my favourite little dwarf?" He asked, looking down on her. Tiffany glanced up at Sirius, damn; she still only just came up to his shoulder. 

"Actually not so little, thank you very much." She said with great dignity. 

"You could have fooled me." He said. Tiffany looked at him haughtily. 

"Humph, well you Mr. Black, are easily fooled if I dare say so myself," Tiffany turned quickly and stalked off towards the Hogwarts Express; her platinum hair swinging from side to side, the curves of her hips swaying sexily. 

"Come on then," Lily picked up Minnie's cage and her trunk, she followed Tiffany. As soon as Lily was out of earshot, James turned to Sirius. 

"You didn't have to go and kiss her," he frowned, looking annoyed. 

"It was only a joke, you know I don't like Lily in that way. That's your department." Sirius grinned, his dark eyes twinkling merrily. 

"As if she'd ever like me," said James gloomily. 

"James, she already does." 

"I think not." 

"Think what you like, but it's all in their eyes. You can't miss it." Sirius caught Tiffany's eye as she was climbing onto the Hogwarts Express. She scowled jokingly, taking a huge step up onto the train with her short yet slender legs. 

"You sure you don't need a step ladder Tiff?" Sirius called. Tiffany looked mutinous as she stormed off down the train. 

"Now you've done it!" Lily tried to hide a giggle. 

"She'll get over it." Sirius grinned. "She's got a great pair of legs for a dwarf, eh?" He said in an undertone to James. 

Lily followed Tiffany as she stomped off towards the end of the train; they always sat in the last carriage. It was sort of a tradition, reaching back to the first day they had met. All the other compartments had been full up so Lily, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, although they didn't know each other then, had ended up in the last carriage with Tiffany and Amber. Sirius and Tiffany had hit it off right away: "The only thing smaller than you is a fairy off a Christmas tree! No, wait, that is you." She recalled hearing Sirius say. 

"Peter!" Lily heard Tiff shout. A chubby boy with sandy coloured hair turned round, he waved at Tiff who leapt into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. Peter blushed furiously. Lily had always suspected that he had a crush on Tiffany.

"Hey Tiff," he said, still blushing. "Have you grown?" 

"Aww, thanks. At least someone noticed." She glared at Sirius who was standing directly behind her bearing a puzzled expression. 

"She hasn't grown. In fact, I think she's shrunk." Said Sirius with an alarmingly straight face. 

Tiffany turned round and smiled at him pleasantly. "As opposed to some people who stay small their whole lives." She smiled sweetly, her voice laced heavily with double meanings. 

"Ouch, that was bad Tiff," said James, trying not to smile.

"Just what are you trying to say?" Sirius sounded offended.

"What I'm trying to say is; Maybe your bark's worse than your bite." Tiffany stared into his eyes, smiling mischievously. She turned round and opened the sliding doors to the compartment. 

"Oh!" She felt her eyes grow wide at the sight before her eyes. 

"What is i... Oh, get in there Moony."Sirius looked over Tiff's shoulder and grinned. 

Remus was lying on top of a girl with hair the colour of old gold, known to the others as Amber Carrington. He looked up at them guiltily; red lipstick smeared around his mouth, his shirt half-undone. 

"Hi guys," said Amber cheerily as though nothing was wrong. "What's up?"

"Erm, nothing much, we just wondered if we could sit down?" Lily asked, an amused smile came over her face, which she tried her best to hide. 

"Sure," said Amber, who was busy doing up the top two buttons of her v-neck shirt which was dangerously low. There was a quick scrabble to get to the seats on the other side of the carriage, opposite to Remus and Amber's, who had straightened themselves out and were now holding hands. 

"Awwww," said Tiffany to Lily. "Don't they make a cute couple?" 

"I know," Lily wriggled uncomfortably. There were five of them squashed up on a seat meant for three. James was next to the wall, then there was Lily, Tiffany, Sirius and Peter.

"Erm, ow." Said Tiff, rubbing her side, where Sirius had just elbowed her. 

"Sorry," he grunted, obviously still brooding about the 

"small" comment Tiffany had made earlier. 

"Oh for god's sake! I'm sick of this. Get over yourself you miserable sod." Exclaimed Tiffany, she couldn't stand it when Sirius went all quiet. He looked at her, his eyes full of supposed hurt. 

"Stop it." Said Tiffany softly. She couldn't stand that wounded puppy look, it made her want to hug him. 

"Awww, come on." Tiff was seriously getting weaker, she couldn't resist that vulnerable look much longer. "Sirius..." He continued to stare into her eyes, which were full of guilt.

"Right that's it I'm going for a walk." Tiffany got up and left quickly before she did or said something she might regret.

"Well done Sirius, that's the third time you've upset her today." Said James. 

"I know she wants me. I don't know why she tries to resist." Sirius joked.

"You don't know how close you are..." muttered Lily under her breath. James turned to her and gave her a meaningful look. Lily nodded, then mouthed, 'Don't tell Sirius.' James gave her a slight smile, then winked. She looked across at Remus who was being mauled by Amber.

"Can't you two get a room?" Said Lily. "It's like watching pay-per-view." At this Sirius grinned.

"Carry on," he said. Remus stopped kissing Amber, he stared at the door expectantly. Two seconds later the door slid open, and four boys wearing green robes swept in bringing with them an air of hostility. 

Sirius instantly switched off the humour. 

"What do you want Malfoy?" He said coldly. "I see you brought your little hobgoblins with you," he glanced at Crabbe and Goyle. "and... But of course. It's git features." Sirius glared at Snape, showing pure hatred.

"You'd better watch that mouth of yours Black." Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Let's see, who do we have here then? Petie, Loopy, Carrot, Blackie, Potty and the mudblood." Lucius sneered. Sirius leapt towards Lucius as did James, but they were both held off by Crabbe and Goyle, who stood protectively in front of Lucius like faithful bulldogs. 

"Take that back," James' eyes were flashing dangerously. 

"James leave it." Lily cried. 

"Watch it Potter, you might catch something off your filthy girlfriend." Lucius smiled nastily. 

"Not as much as I'd catch from you, you've got so many shit flies round you that it must be hard to see where you're going. Now get out before I knock you out." James was shaking with anger. Lucius looked at him coldly, deciding that they were outnumbered 6-3. 

"Lets go," Lucius turned to his followers, he stopped dead just before he was about to go through the door. 

"Excuse me, but can you kind of move?" Tiffany regarded him with raised eyebrows. Lucius stared at her for a moment, taking in her long blonde hair and slender frame. He moved closer and kissed her hand. "Tiffany right?" He said smoothly. 

"Yeah," Tiffany tried to tug her hand out of his grasp; she shot a pleading look at Sirius.

"You know, there's a spare seat in my carriage, I think you'll find it far more comfortable there." Lucius kept a firm hold on her hand, almost dragging her out the door with him. 

"You know, how about, thanks. But no thanks," she stared at Sirius. 'Help.' She mouthed.

Sirius moved quickly, putting himself between Lucius and the door. "You heard her," He put an arm round Tiffany's waist and prised her hand out of Lucius' steel-like grip. 

"Thanks but no thanks." Sirius shut the door in Lucius' face, locking it with an _Alohomora _charm. Tiffany flexed her fingers. 

"Thanks," she smiled at Sirius. "I owe you one." 

"A very big one," he joked. 

"Seriously. Thank you." Tiffany touched the back of his 

hand surreptitiously, her amethyst eyes a warm, hazy pinkish colour. Without warning Tiffany stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "There's your big one," she winked, grinning wickedly. Sirius grinned back blushing slightly. As they both sat down, he kept sneaking glances at her. 

James sat close to Lily, fully aware of the fact that she was slightly leaning on his shoulder. 

"You know, I got a letter from Hogwarts in the holidays telling me that I'd been chosen to be a prefect. You should have seen Petunia's face, she looked like she was going to shoot me." Said Lily. 

"You're a prefect! So am I," he grinned. "I felt like a right swot, but it should be ok if you're one too." He said softly, staring into Lily's deep green eyes. She smiled. 

"Thanks for sticking up for me, with Malfoy." She said. 

"Malfoy's a bastard. He's one of the few minority of people who should've been drowned at birth." Said James bitterly. "Just try and ignore him, you know he talks crap." He said encouragingly. Lily smiled gratefully. 

"Will do." She said, James squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww, Tiffany thought. She poked Sirius on the arm, motioning towards Lily and James. He smiled at her, then leaned closer to her, his cheek slightly touching hers. 

"Fancy a go on the simulated sex seat?" Sirius grinned, jerking his head towards Remus and Amber's direction. 

"Go on then, let's have some fun." Said Tiff kinkily, trailing her lips gently along Sirius' cheekbone. 

"James I'm just borrowing your cloak." Sirius reached up and got James' trunk down. He took out the silvery cloak and pushed the trunk under the seat. 

"Ok whatever" said James, still staring into Lily's eyes, deep in conversation with her. 

"I'm going to get some food," Peter left, looking absolutely sickened by everyone pairing off. 

"Moony," Sirius called Remus up and talked to him for a minute whilst Tiffany chatted to Amber. 

"How did you and Remus get together then?" Asked Tiff, delighted that Amber had found someone, as she had been quite attached to Sirius at one time. 

"I don't know really. It sort of happened towards the end of last year, we met up during the holidays and... it sort of carried on from there. I'll tell you something though," Amber whispered to Tiffany. "He's a great kisser, and he's really gentle," said Amber slowly and meaningfully. Tiff froze for a moment.

"Ok, more information than I needed but... great. It's brilliant that you two get along so well." Tiffany smiled genuinely. 

"So what about you and Sirius then?" Amber's eyes glinted mischievously. 

"What about us?" 

"So you're an 'us'?" Amber grinned.

"No, we're both individuals. And I don't even know if he likes me." Tiff added in an undertone to Amber. 

"Trust me girl, he likes you. Didn't you see him blush when you kissed him?" 

"No, did he? Did he really? Oh my god, I will _so_ have him about that later." Tiffany grinned, sensing a chance to cause mischief. At that moment Amber stood up, and went over to join Remus on the other side of the carriage. Sirius sat down next to Tiff, he grinned at Remus and then covered himself and Tiffany with the cloak. Tiffany felt an irresistible urge to giggle. She couldn't see herself or Sirius. Reaching a blind hand out, Tiff came into contact with Sirius' chest. She felt his arms close around her, pulling her towards him. Using her fingertips to feel her way to his face, she leant closer, his hair felt so soft under her touch. Sirius held her tightly, stroking her silky hair with gentle hands. 

"Let's have some fun with them." She whispered. Sirius shook with silent laughter, there were so many possibilities. 

"Ok, start moaning or something." He said. Tiffany snorted with laughter. Everyone looked up. 

"Where'd they go?" James looked puzzled. 

"Where did they go?" Lily glanced around. Amber and Remus were grinning. Tiffany was sure they had guessed what they were going to do. 

Tiffany started to breathe heavily, and loudly. It was taking all her self-control not to burst out laughing. 

"Oh Tiff, you're so good!" Sirius groaned, they were both shaking with laughter. 

James' face was a picture. "What are they doing?!?!?!" He looked mortified, as did Lily. 

"Sirius, baby. Ride me like a pony!" Said Tiffany. Remus and Amber were crying with laughter. 

"Stop it you two. If you get caught..." Lily warned, a bemused frown upon her face. 

"Don't stop Tiff, go faster, faster!" That was too much for both of them. They fell onto the floor, the clock slipping off them, rolling with laughter. Tiffany looked up; tears streaming down her face, she saw that everyone was absolutely wetting themselves too. Sirius sat up, leaning on Tiff for support. He dropped to all fours and started to neigh. 

"I'll be your pony." He winked at Tiff, crawling over to her. 

"Who needs a unicorn when you've got me!" They all dissolved into hysterics again; Sirius collapsed on top of Tiffany, who put her arms around him and buried her head in his chest, shaking with laughter. Sirius looked her in the eye. Everyone else was still laughing, not really paying attention. Slowly, he leant forwards and kissed her softly. It only lasted a second, but it was sweet and somewhat electrifying. Tiffany smiled at Sirius, her heart thumping oddly. 

"Well, I'll never be able to look at you in the same way again." She whispered. 

"Why?" He asked, genuinely puzzled. 

"One word - pony." Tiffany shook her head, snickering. 

"I believe you're the pony my dear. I'm the strong and sexy unicorn!" Sirius exclaimed. They looked around to see Remus, Amber, James and Lily staring at them. Sirius realised just how strange they looked. He was kneeling on the floor with Tiff's legs between his, uh oh! Sirius stood up, helping Tiff up too. 

"Well that was funny." said Amber, wiping her eyes carefully to remove any traces of smudged mascara. 

"Extremely. You should have seem your face!" Tiff grinned at James. 

"Well, you should have heard yourselves. Honestly I dread to think what would've happened if someone had come in." said James indignantly. 

"Oh come on Jamie, we had you fooled, admit it." Sirius smirked. 

"We? You and Tiff are a 'we'?" Lily, James and Amber all raised their eyebrows questioningly.

"No." said Tiffany and Sirius a little too quickly, causing more raised eyebrows. 

"Hmm?" Said James, glancing at them suspiciously. 

"Honestly. The relationship between Sirius and I is purely platonic. I'm appalled that you could even suggest such a thing." Tiffany shook her head in mock disgust, her silvery hair falling in a sheer curtain around her face. 

"Was that before or after you had simulated sex on the seat? I'm never sitting there again." Said Remus.

"Well what about you and Amber? At least Sirius and I were joking, if we hadn't arrived when we did, who knows what would've happened." Said Tiffany, with raised eyebrows. 

"Again, the 'we' phrase in reference to you two." Said James coyly. 

"Bu..." Tiffany started to protest. At that moment, Peter returned, bringing the food cart with him. 

"God, I'm starving," Lily exclaimed. There was a mad rush to buy snacks, which resulted in Tiffany fighting Sirius for the last bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. 

"Want one Sirius?" Tiffany offered the bag to him, fluttering her outrageously long eyelashes.

"Thanks Tiff, want a chocolate frog?" He said with equally flirtatious smile. 

The rest of the journey passed quite quickly; Tiffany flirted lots with Peter; Lily and James continued to talk quietly amongst themselves, and Sirius had Remus and Amber in hysterics over several dirty jokes which involved many teachers and Severus Snape. 

By the time they got to the castle it was drizzling slightly; Lily, Amber and Tiff shared an umbrella whilst the boys got wet. 

"Aww, ergh. Sirius you smell like a wet dog! And you look like one James!" Amber giggled her high, tinkering laugh. 

"Awww, poor James. You don't look like a wet dog, you look like a soggy puppy. But a very cute one," said Tiffany with a wink and a nudge to Lily. "What do you think Lil?" Her eyebrows raised, eyes glimmering with perverse humour. 

"What?" Said Lily. "Oh, erm... very, very cute puppy definitely." Lily had a very serious look on her face. James laughed. 

"Well, when you've all decided whether I'm a dog or a puppy, I think we should go into the Great Hall because the Sorting's about to start." Suggested James. 

"Good idea," said Remus, linking Amber's arm. 

"Peter dear!" Tiffany fluttered her eyelashes and latched herself onto Pettigrew's arm. "Shall we?" She shot a sideways look at Sirius who was performing a dryness spell on himself. 

"May I have your attention please? Just for one moment then we can start the feast." Professor Dumbledore stood up; his long, silver beard tucked into his belt, which was wrapped round robes of midnight blue. "Four years ago a large aggressive tree, The Whomping Willow, as I've heard it called, was planted here at Hogwarts. There have been a number of incidents, which have had fairly serious consequences, for example, Mr. Davis' eye. So I must ask you to remember that the Whomping Willow is out of bounds, as is the Forbidden Forest. Right, that's all, have a good year and try to stay out of trouble." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes lingered on James and Sirius who were both grinning manically. 

After they had eaten, Lily, Tiffany and Amber went straight to their rooms whilst Sirius, Peter, James and Remus played Exploding Snap in the Gryffindor common room. 

"You should see the bathroom, it's huge. And there's a bath the size of a swimming pool with hundreds of taps round it. It's brilliant." Lily was telling the others about her privileges as a prefect. "And I can give out detentions too." 

"Brilliant," muttered Tiffany, she was lying on her bed, half-asleep. 

"It is, that's really good Lil, you should be proud of yourself." Said Amber, whilst filing her nails. "Plus, you'll get to see loads more of James," she said with a sly grin. 

"Amber, I do not fancy James, how many times do I have to tell you?" Said Lily, going slightly red in her cheeks. 

"Don't deny it, it's so obvious that you both like each other," Amber grinned. 

"I do not! He's my friend ok, friend, just normal male type friend," said Lily hotly. 

"No, no, no, Lily, boy friend, boy friend!" Amber chanted. She shot Tiff a sideways glance. "How come she's so quiet?" Lily crept over to Tiffany's bed, taking care not to make a sound.

"She's asleep," whispered Lily. "Aww, she looks like an angel." She smiled down at the still form of Tiffany; platinum hair spilling over her shoulders, a half smile transfixed on her innocent face. 

"Come on, leave her in peace," Amber and Lily left the room, to join James, Sirius, Peter and Remus in a particularly violent game of Exploding Snap. 


	2. Premonitions and Prophecies

Heys! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter, you really made my day!!!! Ok, this started out as a Lily/James fic but I kind of got side tracked with Sirius and Tiff so I guess I'll stick with the perverted comedy, as you seem to love it so much. (j/k!!!) Also, this story is the first of two, the second one featuring Harry & co. (Did I phrase that right???) Anyway, I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, but be warned, I have exams next week so I probably wont be able to write much. Please review and tell me what you think, - good reviews will get a big smile and will be greatly appreciated, flames will make me cry!!!

Disclaimer - Everything is J.K.R's, except Tiffany and Amber. I've nicked a few things from various films, various English comedy shows, eg Coupling etc, please don't sue me!!!

P.S. Look for *anagrams* heheheh.... Points will be awarded for the most observant reviewer...

Chapter two - Premonitions and Prophecies

__

A streak of midnight black, flashes of gold. It ran, galloping swiftly through the forest, the rhythmical sound of hoof beats thudding on the soft ground. It skids to a halt, nostrils flared in search of the scent, which was so familiar. The creature's majestic head held high, alert and wary as the footsteps draw ever closer. A girl; with hair like starshine and wonderfully clear eyes, the colour of wood violets. She kneels in the clearing on a carpet of bluebells, her hand outstretched to the beast. Cautiously, the animal approaches, dancing sideways in endless circles around the girl, watching closely for a chance to escape. Yet the girl does nothing, she follows the beast with her eyes watching calmly as it prances dangerously close; it's golden tail held gracefully high, mane streaming like liquid gold. Closer it moves, sure-footed and swift. Hooves of pure gold, just metres from the girl's knees. A supple neck outstretched, a beautifully dished face full of equine intelligence, softly; the beast nuzzles the girl's hand in search of sugar. She lays her hand upon its nose, tracing the only marking on the creature that was not golden. A white blaze. Suddenly spooked the animal leaps backwards into a rear, its golden horn held sky-ward. In a flash it was gone. 

"Wait..." 

Images sped through her mind at the speed of light; the forest, a stolen kiss under the mistletoe, graduation, a white wedding, letters, and tears. A woman with red hair, a tall man with tousled black hair. Piercing laughter. A green flash and an infantile cry... 

Tiffany screamed sharply, breaking the silence of the dorm. She sat bolt upright; her eyes wide open in shock. 'What the hell was that?' she thought wildly. Looking around, Tiffany saw shapes moving towards her. 

"Whassuup?" Lily rubbed her eyes sleepily whilst Amber emitted a huge yawn behind her. 

"Nothing, nothing... just a nightmare..." said Tiff running her fingers through her dishevelled hair, her eyes narrowed in thought as she tried to make sense of the strange dream. A unicorn... came a distant thought. A black, flying unicorn, now I've seen everything, she thought a disbelieving smile spreading over her face. 

"Sorry I woke you up. I'm never eating cheese again." Tiff groaned. 

"Are you sure you're ok? You were shouting, and then you screamed." Amber looked up at Tiffany her eyes full of concern. 

"What was I shouting?" asked Tiffany curiously.

"I don't know really, it just sounded like 'Nooooo', I think." said Amber. 

"You shouted my name. That's what woke me up." said Lily softly. "What did you dream about Tiff?" All eyes were fixed on Tiffany, searching her face. 

"I don't know, honestly. It was all blurry." Tiffany really didn't remember anything, but she deliberately didn't mention the flying unicorn, that was just too weird. She got up, walked over to the washstand and poured herself a glass of water. Amber and Lily retreated to their beds. 

"Night Tiff," they said in unison. Tiffany noticed that she was still wearing her clothes. She quickly pulled on some pyjamas and got back into bed, snuggling deeply into the duvet, pushing all thoughts of the dream to the back of her mind. 

"Oi Tiff, pass the bacon." said Sirius. The Great Hall was filled with the sound of chattering students; timetables were being handed out. Tiffany stared blankly at her scrambled eggs; she prodded them with her fork and sighed, eyeing the plate with disgust. Tiff pushed the golden plate away, she leant on her hand staring at the tablecloth. 

"Hello, earth to Tiff!" Sirius waved a hand in front of her eyes. 

"What?" she looked up, a distant expression on her face. "Sorry, did you say something?" 

"Erm, only for the past five minutes. Bacon," Sirius nodded towards the tray of bacon and sausages. Tiff passed it him, a pensive expression troubled her face. "You ok?" he asked. 

"Hm," she grunted, totally missing the fact that Sirius had actually enquired after her instead of telling her to go back to Gnomeland. "What've we got first?" she asked, squinting at her timetable. 

"Care of Magical Creatures, oh no, with the Slytherins." Sirius' face fell. But Tiffany's lit up. 

"That's it! I'll see you later, I've gotta go check something," Tiffany left the Great Hall in a hurry. 

"Where's she going?" Lily turned to Sirius. "What did you say to her?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

"Nothing! She just said she had to go check something. Honestly, why do you always blame me?" exclaimed Sirius. 

"Because it usually is you," said Lily truthfully.

Tiffany waked briskly towards the Gryffindor common room, desperately trying to remember if she had packed a certain textbook, one that could possibly answer a few questions about the strange unicorn dream. 'What was that about anyway?' she thought to herself. 'There's no such thing as a black unicorn, never mind a flying one!' Deeply immersed in this theory, Tiffany paid no attention whatsoever to where she was going and proceeded to walk straight into a tall figure clothed in billowing black robes. 

"Oh!" Tiffany looked up; her face fell as her violet eyes met the cold black ones of Severus Snape. "Sorry," Tiffany backed away quickly. 

"It's alright," he said silkily, give her an appreciative glance. Tiffany fought hard to keep her face straight, and free from showing open disgust. Snape was almost as bad as Malfoy when it came to flirting with her, only it was slightly funnier with Snape. "So, where are you off to?" he said. 

"I just needed to check something before our first class," damn, thought Tiff. Too much information. 

"What do you need to check? I could accompany you if you wish." said Snape greasily; his eyes fixed on Tiffany's making her feel extremely uncomfortable. 

"No! I mean, no thank you. I, erm, just need..." Tiff thought of the right word. "Reference. If you'll excuse me, I must be going." Tiffany sidestepped around him and set off towards the common room at an alarmingly fast pace. 

"See you in Care of Magical Creatures." Snape gazed after her, a disturbing smile played across his lips. 

"Bye," Tiff called, sighing with relief as she reached the painting of the Fat Lady. 

"How do I attract these people?" she said to herself, a repulsed frown came over her face as she thought of the previous conversation. 

"Animal magnetism by any chance?" Tiffany jumped as Remus came out of the portrait hole. 

"Bloody hell, you scared me!" she exclaimed, her hands at her throat. 

"So I guess you weren't talking about Sirius then?" he said, brown eyes glinting mischievously.

"Not unless he has a bent nose, tons of greasy black hair and possesses the ability to make me throw up at the thought of any animalistic mating ritual." said Tiff, shuddering shuddering with disgust at the thought. 

"Erm, very big Eurgh! Poor you," he winced, genuinely feeling sorry for Tiffany. 

"Don't tell Sirius. The last thing I want is to be called Mrs. Gitfeatures for the rest of my life." Remus snorted with laughter. 

"Hmm, that's a good one." Tiffany glared at him. "Ok, I won't tell.... Mrs. G!" Remus scarpared before Tiff had a chance to curse him. 

"Liddo Kenas," Tiff sighed as the Fat Lady's painting swung back, revealing a semi-large hole leading to the Gryffindor common room, which was full of plush velvet chairs and maroon wall hangings. 

"Amber, hurry up. We're late!" Lily shouted to Amber who was wolfing down the last of her bacon. 

"Cmmmng," said Amber through a mouthful of food. She ran over to Lily and dragged her out the castle doors in pursuit of James, Remus, Sirius and Peter. 

"Here comes lover girl," Peter nudged Remus, motioning towards Lily and Amber. 

"Yeah, lover girl!" Sirius taunted James. 

"What about you and 'Little Miss Sex Pixie'?" said James with raised eyebrows. 

"That's between Little Miss Sex Pixie and I," Sirius winked. "Hi Lily, Amber." he smiled cheerfully, his face a little too innocent. 

"Well it wasn't too obvious that you're talking about us!" Amber exclaimed. 

"So, whatcha gonna do about it? Eh?" said Sirius playfully. 

"Well..." Amber thought for a moment. "We're going to beat you with broomsticks until you bleed from your..." Lily clamped a hand over Amber's mouth

"She means, she'll beat _Sirius_ to death with a broomstick whilst the rest of us watch in amusement." said Lily, releasing Amber. "Sorry Sirius, no offence." she said, her emerald eyes twinkling apologetically. 

"None taken Lil. As soon as you've finished your role in PlayWizard's fantastic animation let me know." Everyone stared at Sirius, James and Remus both bore an amused sort of grimace on their faces. 

"You know." said Sirius at the blank look on the girls' faces. "You, Amber and Tiff starring in Lesbian Spank Inferno. Don't lie, we all saw the pictures." A wave of horror swept over Lily and Amber's faces before they realised that Sirius was joking. 

"You..." Amber shook her head at Sirius, trying to hide a smile. "Where on earth did you come up with that?" she asked incredulously. 

"Do you really want to know?" his and James' faces split into two evil grins. 

"No." said Lily firmly. "I stopped wanting to know after you mentioned PlayWizard." All the boys snickered. PlayWizard was a magazine for *ahem* adult wizards with a reputation for being the filthiest read since Hogwarts: An Untold History of The Secret Bondage Sex Chambers, which somehow Sirius had gotten hold of in his 

first year. 

* * *

"Where is it?" Several books soared through the air, knocking a photograph and a hairbrush off Lily's bedside table. "Aha," Tiffany grinned triumphantly, pulling out a slim red book with gold leaf corners. She sat down on her bed, and turned straight to the last pages of the book. 

__

"...Rare Thestral (black, possessed of the power of invisibility and considered unlucky by many wizards." Tiffany quoted under her breath, Winged Horses was the subtitle. Well that told me a lot! thought Tiffany ironically. Her eyes blurred for a minute, a soft aching pain came from around her neck. 

Tiff sighed, oh well... Care of Magical Creatures. She wrinkled her nose in disdain. If she was with someone else then she'd most probably skip it, but playing truant was no fun on your own. Reluctantly, Tiffany made her way towards the Entrance Hall, trying to ignore the nauseating pain, which was slowly diffusing throughout her head. 

"Oww," Tiff blinked several times, trying to make the pain go away. No luck, she changed her course and headed towards the medical wing. 

"My head hurts," she told Madam Pomfrey, who was fussing round her as she swayed a little. 

"Sit down on here," Madam Pomfrey led Tiffany to a bed, where she collapsed holding her head in agony. "Here, drink this." Tiff gulped down a smoking blue potion, which tasted like old socks. 

"Never tell me what was in that," she said, a look of utter revulsion on her face. 

"How do you feel?" 

"A bit better, the pain's still there, just around my temples," said Tiff. 

"I don't know, you're just like your cousin. He's always in here wanting to be patched up after fights." Tiffany's eyes narrowed slightly. Zane Zabini was in his seventh year, same as Malfoy, and was the total opposite to Tiffany. As she was kind, gentle and innocent? Well maybe not *that* innocent, he was ruthless, devious and cunning. Tiffany almost never talked to him; he was a big believer in power, which was most probably the reason why he was in Slytherin. 

"Drink it all, and then you can have a lie down" said Madam Pomfrey warningly. Tiffany pulled a face and began sipping the potion whilst Madam Pomfrey pulled a screen round her bed. Almost immediately the doors opened, and several people walked in. 

"Poppy, we need you to translate something. It's written in some ancient form of Latin, and no one can decipher the last verse," came Dumbledore's voice. 

"It seems to be some kind of rhyme... "

"Complete nonsense... window to their souls? What does it mean?" A male and a female voice sounded throughout the hospital, both completely bewildered. 

"I'll try my best headmaster," said Madam Pomfrey. There was a rustling of papers. 

"Careful, they're really old." said the male voice anxiously. After several moments of silence, Madam Pomfrey finally spoke. 

"I think I've got it, but..." 

"But what, Poppy?" asked Dumbledore. 

"It sounds, well... bad. See what you make of it." She passed a piece of paper, covered in rough notes to Dumbledore. His expression remained unreadable. 

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Interesting..." Dumbledore took a deep breath, and began to read. 

__

"Two maidens fair, from afar,

One of the seas and one of the stars.

Both gentle, kind and pure of spirit

All is revealed in the window to their souls.

The buck and the tiger-, the jade and the cur,

Each with a gift more precious than myrrh.

Of their destined love, a chance shall arise,

To whirl away the darkest skies.

Should their heirs, mature and meet,

Darkness should be fleet of feet.

For if these soulmates battle forth,

The Lord shall fall, down to the hearth.

If however, these souls shall part,

When one has captured the other's heart. 

Fear not Lord, for thou shall rise,

Blacker and darker than the premier guise."

"Do you have any idea what it could mean Professor?" came the female voice. 

"Yes Minerva, I do. There are parts which I don't yet understand, parts which will be of particular relevance in the future, but at the present time. Minerva, Jonathon, you are aware of the sudden increase in muggle-born and muggle killings?" Dumbledore asked Professor McGonagall and Professor Mondoc. They nodded tentatively. "You know of Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore stated. 

"Professor..." McGonagall gasped. "You, don't think HE'S the Lord in the poem surely." Her eyes widened with shock. 

"It can't be..." started Jonathon. 

"It is. But I don't think the prophecy applies to the present time. No... It's futuristic." said Dumbledore, deep in thought. 

"It could've already happened though. I mean, this is hundreds, possibly thousands of years old." said Jonathon. 

"True, but why would it be revealed now if it wasn't relevant to the time?" Dumbledore contradicted himself. "What I mean is, maybe it's telling us something. Something that will happen in the future. Something we must prevent from happening." He received several worried looks. 

"Ahem," Tiffany cleared her throat, stepping around the screen. "Erm, I feel better now. Bye." She darted for the door. 

"Wait, Miss Zabini." Tiffany turned to face Dumbledore. 

"I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone what you've heard." said Dumbledore, smiling.

"Erm, ok. I didn't understand it anyway." she said. Tiffany left the room and made her way quickly down to the grounds to Care of Magical Creatures. 

"Professor, what if she tells someone." Minerva exclaimed. 

"She wont, she's one to keep her word. Funny though... considering her relatives..." said Jonathon, gazing after Tiffany. 

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, I went to the medical wing." Tiffany explained to Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. 

"Where have you been? You've been gone for fifteen minutes," said Amber. 

"Hospital wing, I had a headache." said Tiff truthfully. 

"You ok?" asked Lily, concern spreading across her delicate face. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Honestly," she smiled. "So what's happened whilst I've been gone?" 

"Not much, Sirius, porn, Sirius, lesbians, Sirius, lesbian porn. Same old thing really." Amber drawled. 

"Riiiiiight," Tiffany glanced over at Sirius who was deeply immersed in conversation with James, Remus and Peter, they were all huddled around a piece of parchment, trying to block it from view. "What are they doing?" 

"Dunno, the word, 'PlayWizard' comes to mind though." Lily smirked. 

"Tut, tut, tut! What naughty little boys!" said Tiff loudly. Sirius and James turned round. 

"What?" they said in unison, hastily folding the parchment and tucking it under Sirius' robes. 

"So you're back," said Sirius. 

"No shit Sherlock! You're so incredibly quick!" Tiff exclaimed sarcastically.

"Hey Tiff, you've got an admirer." Remus grinned, nodding in the direction of Snape who kept glancing at Tiff every ten seconds. 

Tiffany glared at Remus. "Shut it!" she mouthed. But it was too late, Sirius was already on his way over to Snape. 

"Oh, please kill me now." she murmured, with her head in her hands. Amber and Lily were watching excitedly. 

"What do you think he's going to say?" Lily asked James. 

"No idea," he replied truthfully. 

Sirius walked up to Snape, stopping a few feet away. 

"Oi, gitface!" Snape glared at Sirius venomously. "Do you fancy Tiff?" said Sirius very loudly. The whole class had stopped talking to watch. Tiffany's face contorted with horror, as Sirius moved closer to Severus. 

"Shut it Black," spat Snape, a rouge blush appeared on his pale cheeks. 

"Don't you just love her though," Sirius whispered so that only Snape could hear him. "All that blonde hair, those slender legs, sexy curves and what a bloody nice arse..." 

"Agghhhh," Snape grabbed Sirius by his robes and shoved him up against a tree. :~:a/n not in a slash kinda way ;) :~: "I'm gonna kill you Black." 

"And doesn't it just tear you apart, with the fact that I got there first." Sirius' eyes gleamed triumphantly as Snape's face fell. 

"You're lying, she knows what scum you are..." Snape doubled over as Sirius kicked him in the stomach. 

"Ooooh, that had to hurt." Lily winced, almost feeling sorry for Snape. 

"What's happening?" said Tiff, still covering her eyes with her hands. 

"Sirius just kicked Snape." said Peter, who was watching in awe. 

"What!" Tiff glared at Sirius as he walked back towards them. 

"What did you say to him?" James asked Sirius in an undertone. 

"Not much," he replied, shooting daggers at Snape. 

"Right, class. Gather round, can everyone hear me? Good." hollered Professor Kettleburn. "Now, can any of you tell me..." he pulled back a sheet, which had been covering a large cage. "... What this is?" It was a small, evil looking creature with a pointed face. At the moment it was cackling.

Sirius raised his hand. "Yes Mr. Black." 

"Tiffany." The class snickered, they were used to Sirius' jokes about Tiff's height. 

"Amusing as that might be, it's an Erkling. This gnome-like creature preys on small children. It lures them away from their guardians, takes them to its lair..." 

"And beats them to death with a ten foot dildo." Sirius muttered to James under his breath. James fought hard against the irresistible urge to burst out laughing. 

"... And eats them with it's jagged fangs." finished Professor Kettleburn dramatically. 

Sirius glanced over at Tiffany, trying to catch her eye. She turned her back on him. 

"Do you think she's mad with me?" he asked James. 

"I wonder how you worked that out," said Peter sarcastically. 

"Why though? I fought to defend her honour, she should thank me!" he exclaimed. 

"Sirius, maybe she'll thank you when she gets over the embarrassment." said Remus helpfully. 

"Hmm, I very much doubt it." James stared across at Tiffany, who was standing with Lily and Amber. He gazed at Lily's hair as it shimmered different shades of red in the morning sun. She turned round, her green eyes meeting his. A mutual smile passed between them, before their attention returned to their friends. 


	3. Rumours and Revelations

a/n. Hi, ok please don't tell me how crap this is because I am aware of the fact that shit is an understatement. I know it's a bit fluffy (sorry Crystallina Auctia) and not as funny as the other 2 chapters, but I promise that the 4th chapter will be better. Big thanks to K*t my beta reader and my inspiration, you rock girl! Please review, pretty please.....

Chapter Three - Rumours and Revelations

"Come on."

"No."

"I said I was sorry."

"Yeah to me, but I'm not the only person you should be apologising to." 

"Me, apologise to him!?! You must be joking." 

Tiffany shot Sirius a frosty look. She was still fuming about the 'incident' in Care of Magical Creatures where Sirius had shouted out to the whole class that Snape fancied her. Tiffany had not found it amusing unlike Remus and James who were still laughing about it several days later. 

"Do I look like I'm joking!" she said icily. "You embarrassed me in front of everyone. In fact, I don't know why I'm still talking to you." Tiff stalked away from Sirius, towards a secluded armchair by the fire in which she settled herself down and started reading a book of Lily's. 

"Fine! But there is NO WAY I'm gonna apologise to gitface, so you can forget that idea," said Sirius haughtily, turning his back on her. Tiffany turned round and glared at him, slamming the book down. 

"You make it sound like I was in the wrong." she said shrilly, a few younger Gryffindors stopped their conversations to listen and watch. "I mean, it's not my fault if I attract every ugly, evil, foul-mouthed egotistical, pigheaded excuse for a man that I meet. Hey, you know I'm beginning to think I've got a magnet stamped to my forehead saying, "GET IT HERE! ONLY TOTAL IMBECILES ACCEPTED!" Tiffany yelled at a bewildered Sirius; her cheeks pink with frustration, platinum hair spilling wildly over her shoulders. She breathed through her nose heavily for a moment. "Oh what's the point," she muttered, stomping off to her dorm and slamming the door. 

Sirius sat for a moment, taking in what had just happened. He sighed, catching the eye of a 3rd Year Gryffindor boy. 

"Never try to understand women," he said wearily, his eyes fell on Tiffany's book. He picked it up, "Pride and Prejudice?" and started reading the page which she had book-marked. 

"What's up?" James entered the common room, his Nimbus 1000 slung over his shoulder. He sat down on the opposite side of the sofa, tucked his long legs up, and peered inquisitively at Sirius through his glasses. 

"Bloody women. You try to do something nice for them and they throw it all back in your face." he said bitterly, tossing the book onto the table. 

"Ahh, Tiff troubles I guess." said James thoughtfully. 

"You guessed correctly." Sirius furrowed his brow and looked up at James. "Anyway, you know what tonight is?" he said meaningfully. James nodded. 

"The full moon," he replied, taking care to keep his voice low. "Time for the Marauders to go on a night trip." 

"Yep, we'll go down after Madam Pomfrey's gone and fetch Remus from the shack. Bring the cloak, just in case." Sirius was referring to the silvery invisibility cloak, which James had inherited from his late grandfather. It had proved itself to be a necessity for every method of rule breaking possible. In their second year, Sirius and James had discovered Remus' dark secret. Each month, he had always needed to go home suddenly because his grandmother had died, or his mother was ill. They had quickly become suspicious, and in time, had worked it out for themselves. Remus was a werewolf, and had been absolutely terrified when they had confronted him. But instead of deserting him like most people had, they did something remarkable. Sirius and James had just last month mastered the art of Animagi, the ability to transform into a different animal at will. James had been staying at with Sirius for the last three weeks of the school holidays when they had cracked it. James had turned into a stag and Sirius into a large dog, which resembled a Grim more than a little. 

"Do you think it'll work? I mean, there'll only be us two and Remus, what if we can't control him?" said James apprehensively. 

"Stop worrying, we're both bigger animals than him in his wolf form anyway," said Sirius reassuringly. "Speak of the devil," he grinned up at Remus who had just walked in with Amber. 

James noticed that he looked pale, a little more than usual. He smiled up at them warmly, a quizzical smile came across his face. 

"Where's Lily?" he asked Amber, after realising that she wasn't in the common room. 

"Dunno, oh wait..." Amber paused in thought. "She said something about Library, Herbology, Ravenclaw and Ilianna Harman. Oh and homework was mentioned." Amber grinned, amazed at her memory which usually only had room for remembering gossip. 

"Ilianna Harman? And she would be...?" asked James. 

"That fit chick in Ravenclaw, you know the blonde Chaser. Tall and leggy." Sirius grinned, he had a good eye for talent on and off the Quidditch pitch. 

Amber frowned at this comment. 

"Typical male," she sighed. "Are you ok darling? You don't look well at all," she cooed over Remus. 

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit 'off' today that's all," he smiled weakly at Amber as she enveloped him in a hug, patting his back and muttering, "Poor baby." Sirius and James traded a glance, then promptly burst into silent giggles, mouthing at Remus, "Poor baby," and "Darling." 

* * *

"Lily?" A pretty looking girl with sunshine blonde hair poked her head round Lily's textbook and peered good naturedly at her. 

"What is it Ilianna?" she asked wearily.

"Can I ask you a question?" said Ilianna silkily. 

"Well I thought that was implied by me saying, 'what is it Ilianna'," Lily retorted sarcastically. Ilianna Harman was in Ravenclaw and a very pretty girl indeed. She had long legs, buttercup yellow hair and was a Chaser on her Quidditch team. She was also very popular with the boys. Although Ilianna had beauty and brains to a certain extent, she was undeniably classed as naive. A top grade student with a brain like a chicken when it came to conversation. Lily often wondered whether it was possible to be clever yet clueless at the same time. 

"Ok," Ilianna smiled and moved closer to Lily. "Are you dating James Potter?" she asked outright. 

"What!" Lily exclaimed. "Who told you that?" 

"Aha, so it IS true!" Ilianna shrieked. 

"No of course not, we're just friends," said Lily, blushing a little. 

"Liar." The girl regarded Lily with baby blue eyes, which twinkled merrily. "I've seen you together, you two were made for each other." 

"I'm telling the truth, there's nothing going on between James and I." said Lily defiantly. "Who told you anyway?"

"Erm, well... I kind of overheard Amber Carrington talking to... oh, what's her name? You know, that small one... ooh, I always forget her name. Is it... Tanya or Tara?" Ilianna guessed wildly. 

"You mean Tiffany," said Lily, an amused smile creeping over her face. 

"Yeah that's the one. Anyway, Amber was saying how obvious it is that you and James are going to get together soon. Ooops, I hope I haven't got anyone in trouble," Ilianna simpered. 

"No, not at all," Lily smiled sweetly through gritted teeth, thinking, 'You've just handed her a death sentence.' 

"So, what about Sirius? Is he going out with anyone?" Ilianna asked innocently. 

"Not that I know of, why? You don't like him do you?" Lily grinned. 

"Of course I do, honestly Lily, do you have eyes?" said Ilianna without a trace of embarrassment. It was a well-known fact that Ilianna liked Sirius. Pretty and popular, she couldn't understand why he hadn't fallen for her "not-so-subtle" charm. 

"Yes I do have eyes, but I just don't think about Sirius in that way. In fact, it kind of repulses me," Lily pulled a face as impure thoughts ran through her mind. _Yak_, she shuddered. "Anyway, moving swiftly on, Herbology report. Must finish," said Lily in between yawns. 

"Ok, right. Ahem," Ilianna cleared her throat. "Gillyweed is a rare water plant, which allows the user to breathe underwater on consumption, it's effects lasting for around two hours afterwards so you can breathe underwater and not drown from excessive water in your lungs. There, finished," she exclaimed triumphantly, slamming her quill down on the table and sending inky droplets flying everywhere. _Finally_, Lily sighed. 

"I've got to go now and try to console Tiff," she quickly packed her books away and left the library at an alarming speed. 

"Oooh, the one that Severus Snape fancies?" Ilianna shouted after her, ignoring Madam Pince's rather rude 'Shhh's'. 

* * *

"Oh my god, what a nitwit! I have never met anyone so cretinous in my life! Honestly, she belongs in Hufflepuff not Ravenclaw." Lily stressed to James and Sirius. 

"Let me guess, Little Miss Me-Me-Me, aka Ilianna Harman?" Amber verified, showing obvious dislike of the girl. 

"I wonder what gave it away. Oh!" Lily exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I am so gonna kill you." She glared at Amber. 

"Moi? Why, what did I do?" Amber asked, a frown playing across her face.

"Well a certain _somebody_ overheard you talking with another certain _somebody_ and now that _somebody_ has got a very wrong idea about myself and another certain _somebody_." Lily hissed. Amber blinked several times. 

"I think I speak for all of us here when I say - huh?" Sirius and James both bore bemused expressions, whereas Amber was slowly understanding. 

"You mean that she was earwigging on me and T- err, a certain somebody?!" said Amber quickly. Sirius looked suspicious. 

"Yes, and you know what you and that person were talking about..." Lily went very red around her cheeks as Amber slightly paled. 

"Erm, we were, erm..." Amber was running out of things to say when she had a brainwave, her eyes fell on Sirius and she grinned. "Yes. We were talking about you and James." A look of horror came over Lily's face and she turned a wonderful shade of magenta. James had reacted in very much the same way as Lily by going beetroot and staring at Amber, mortified. Sirius grinned, nodding for Amber to continue. "Well me and Tiff - and Sirius too, we've seen how you are around each other, so this is us telling you to either get it together, or leave it, ok?" Amber said. 

"Let's leave them alone to 'talk'," said Sirius using air-quotes. 

"Yep, come on Remie. We'll go this way, and Sirius can go and apologise to Tiff." Amber grinned at Sirius, dragging Remus up the spiral stairs towards the boys dorm. Reluctantly, Sirius set off up the stairs muttering incoherently. There were no other students in the common room except Lily and James. 

Silence. Lily looked at James. James looked at Lily. 

"So," he said...

* * * 

"It's raining men!" Tiff danced round the room wearing only a towel, droplets of water sprayed everywhere from her drenched hair. She was singing to a song that was playing on Lily's magically modified cassette player. ~:~a/n no cd's then (1978 ish)~:~ "Hallelujah, it's raining men. Amen! Woops," the towel dipped dangerously low down her back, Tiffany quickly pulled it back up, securing it firmly. 

Sirius walked through the door, his eyes growing abnormally wide at the sight of Tiff in a towel that barely skimmed her thighs. 

"Jesus!" he said loudly in shock. Tiffany spun round and let out a small scream. 

"Sirius! What the hell are you doing?!?" she shrieked, crossing her legs and desperately trying to stop her towel from falling. 

"I erm, needed to, erm... tell you something," he said, unable to stop staring. "But you obviously anticipated my timely arrival," a crafty glint appeared in his eyes. 

"Stop it! Get out!" she screamed. 

"But it's really important," he stared into her *eyes* trying not to glance lower. 

"Turn around." she instructed, watching him suspiciously. She quickly pulled on a lacy black bra, ~:~ a/n completely meaningless ;)~:~ with matching knickers, and slipped into a silver satin nightgown, which also happened to be very short. 

"So what did you want to tell me?" she asked, standing rather awkwardly. 

"That you've got great legs, and you must come and listen because we've just left Lily and James alone together," Sirius said quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the stairs where they had a silent fight over who got to listen at the door. 

* * *

"So... this is weird," James grinned sheepishly. _What the hell am I supposed to say? _he thought wildly. "So, erm... how did it go in the... library with Ilianna?" _Oh my god, what I am? Braindead? _He groaned inwardly, knowing how stupid that would've sounded. Not to his surprise, Lily laughed. It wasn't a scornful or mocking laugh, but one of genuine amusement, which made her face shine with radiance. 

"Is that all you can think of?" she giggled, desperately trying to keep a straight face. James looked rather hurt. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you but, hey at least it broke the silence." She flashed him a stunning smile, her green eyes glinting mischievously as she sat down next to him on the sofa feeling far more comfortable with the situation. 

"Yeah, stupid, but funnily enough a conversation starter. That'll be the world's best pick-up-line I can tell you," he grinned, regaining his confidence. "So, what were we talking about?" 

"Apart from Ilianna? Well..." Lily hesitated slightly before throwing caution to the winds and following Amber's direct example. "James do you like me?" she said, holding her breath. James froze. _Say yes you imbecile, yes... _nagged a little voice at the back of his mind. James took a deep breath. 

"Yes, and I know that you don't like me but I have to tell you because I can't hold it in much longer. I've always liked you Lily, ever since the first day we met on the train. I love your hair, your eyes, your smile, but most of all I love you. You're the most amazing person I've ever met and probably ever will meet," said James passionately. He sighed. "Ok, I feel **really **stupid now." He blushed furiously, eyes averted to the floor. 

"Awwww, that is sooooo sweet." Lily moved closer to him and touched his hand lightly. "I like you too James," she said softly. A strange fluttering sensation flowed through Lily, sending her light-headed and dizzy. James gazed into her deep emerald eyes, gently squeezing her hand. 

"Are you sure about this, I mean, it could totally kill our friendship. I just... don't want to lose you..." 

"Shh..." Lily held a finger against James' lips to silence him. "We'll always be friends, no matter what happens." She traced the outline of his top lip with her fingertips, gently trailing along his cheek and down his neck. James shuddered under her touch, strangely vulnerable. 

"So, what's going to happen now?" He gave her a crafty grin which was so familiar that it was uncanny. 

"Well, after you've declared your undying love for me in front of the entire school, I'm going to make you run naked through the Forbidden Forest, flashing to all the baby unicorns." said Lily seriously. 

"And you don't think that might corrupt the innocent creatures Lil?" he replied, eyebrows raised. 

"Not in the slightest. It might scar them for life seeing your hairy butt though," she poked him playfully. 

"Ahem, how do you know my butt is hairy? For your information I shave it regularly," James protested with a grin. 

* * *

"What are they saying?" 

"I don't know, shut up or they'll hear us." 

"You shut up." Tiffany hissed. She was pressed up against Sirius in a corner, trying to eavesdrop on James and Lily through a tiny crack in the door, but not having much luck as Sirius kept fidgeting. 

"Stop moving," she hissed. 

"Shh," Sirius clamped a strong hand over her mouth. Tiffany wriggled violently, digging her long nails into his flesh. 

"Ow," he released her, glancing at his arm, which was full of deep half-moon dents. 

"Never try that on with me again, or you'll get a lot more than a scratched arm," said Tiff, softly yet menacingly. 

"Oh that's how you like it is it? The pain and pleasure thing," Sirius whispered seductively into her ear, placing his hands on her waist. 

"Right now, I'm up for pain," she elbowed Sirius in the stomach, causing him to double over in agony. 

"Now, if you don't mind. I'm off to dry my hair and get changed." Tiffany stalked off up back up the stairs, returning three minutes later with magically straightened hair, clothed in flared jeans and a light pink gypsy top which showed off her slender shoulders. 

"What's happened?" she asked Sirius. 

"Nothing, they're saying nothing at all." He frowned at her, pain was still a fresh memory. Tiffany grinned, taking care to restrain herself from screaming. 

"And if they're saying nothing then you know what they're doing!!!" she squeaked, jumping up and down with joy. "Eeee." Sirius grinned. 

"About time! Shall we go in yet? Make them feel embarrassed?" said Sirius eagerly. 

"No. Leave them to it..." Tiff smirked. "On second thoughts, let's have a bit of fun." She giggled. "Follow my lead, ok?" Sirius nodded. 

Tiffany counted to three, then burst through the door, with Sirius directly behind her. Her eyes fell on James and Lily, locked in a cuddly embrace. They sprang apart, both of them wearing guilty looks. Tiff winked at Lily, then turned to Sirius. 

"Oh James, I love you more than life itself." she said dramatically. Sirius took her hands and got down on one knee. 

"Oh Lily dearest. You hair is like the setting sun and your eyes are the stars. Please allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Will you be my wife?" he said loudly, throwing himself into the role. Lily and James cringed. 

"Of course Jamie darling. I'd be absolutely thrilled to spend the rest of my life with you. Now take me away to the honeymoon suite where we can shag now, shag later and shag each other again in the morning." Tiff put a stupid sort of grin on her face, looking uncannily like Ilianna Harman. Sirius swept Tiff off her feet and into his arms. 

"Of course my love, nothing would please me more than a passionate night spent in your arms *cough* legs *cough*. Quick, to the ShagMobile." Sirius carried Tiffany back up the stairs. 

Lily and James collapsed into peals of laughter, holding onto each other for support. 

"Where do they come up with these ideas?" Lily chuckled. 

"Absolutely barking mad, both of them," he grinned, putting his arm around Lily. She smiled coyly, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"So how long will it be before they get together?" said Lily. 

"I give them three months maximum. If people think we were bad then I don't know what to say about Si and Tiff," he replied with a slight grin. 

* * *

"Sirius! Put me down, you know I hate heights!" Tiffany was clinging onto him for dear life as he carried her up the narrow, winding staircase towards her room. 

"Tiffany you're only two feet above the ground, how can that possibly scare you?" He asked incredulously. 

"Just put me down," she wailed, still clutching him desperately. 

"Hang on, we're almost there." Sirius carried Tiff over to her bed and dumped her on it. "There you go," he grinned cheekily, leaning on the bedpost. 

"Hmph," she muttered, a disgruntled look on her face. "So tell me Sirius, when did you learn to quote Jane Austin?" 

"About half an hour ago when I read a page of your book. I don't know how you understand it, it's so drawn out and long. Why don't they just get to the point." 

"Because darling Sirius, then it wouldn't be half as romantic." Tiff sighed dreamily. Sirius sat down on the bed next to her. 

"So when are you going to let me come and sweep you off your feet like Mr. Darcy?" He said softly, meeting her gaze with sincere azure eyes. Tiff hesitated for a moment. 

"When you're ready," she said simply, keeping eye contact for a couple of seconds before pulling away, smiling secretly. 

"Does that mean I'm forgiven? For the Snape thing?" he asked, the familiar crafty smile returning. 

"I suppose so. I mean, it could've been worse. You could've made it out that I liked him instead of the other way around," she grinned. 

"Hmmm," said Sirius thoughtfully. Tiff hit him with a pillow. 

"Come on, or they'll think we really are at it like rabbits." She walked towards the door. 

"Hmmm, now that you mention it, lets stay here," he winked as she shot him an *as if* look. "Or we could leave." He smiled innocently. 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Three bodies silently shuffled across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow, invisible to the eye. Peter, who had only managed to transform several days ago, slipped under the thrashing branches to freeze the tree. A large shaggy, black dog disappeared under the roots, returning a minute later with what was unmistakably a wolf.

He howled at the moon, magnificent and feral, the beast was somewhat saner when in the company of the three. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. They crossed the grounds; the wolf and the dog nipped playfully at each other under the watchful eye of the stag and rat. 

Life was so much better now. Now he had company on these lonely, painful nights when his curse was unleashed. No more harming himself, no more lying to his friends. Yet there was still Amber... So many times he had come close to telling her, only to bottle out for fear of rejection. 

They made their way into the forest, totally unaware that someone was watching their every move. 

She smiled. The moon lit up the room in which two others lay asleep. A frown passed over her face as she watched the odd procession of animals disappear into the silent shadows of the forest. In the blink of an eye they were gone, and so she retired to bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. 


	4. The Halloween Hoax

a/n Finally, I bring you the long awaited chapter four!! **sarcasm** Right, I have the plot worked out and it's not just a meaningless romance story, (winks at AMM!), I'm even planning the sequel!!! Huuuuuge thanks to my fabulous beta reader, K*t, whose seemingly meaningless words have been my inspiration for many ideas in the story so far. I warn you now. Beware of double meanings. If you don't get them, don't even bother asking, trust me, I have a very sick mind!! **shut up K*t!!** 

Tell me what you think of this, constructive criticism is welcome, emphasis on **constructive**! 

I'm thinking of lowering the rating, as it is only cursing and *ahem* 'themes' with deserve the R rating. Yes??? No???

R/R pweeeeeeeeease!!!! 

Disclaimer: Everything that belongs to J.K.R belongs to J.K.R. Everything that belongs to me belongs to me!

P.S. Thank you to all you lovely people who reviewed!!! You really make my day!!!

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This chapter is dedicated to my beloved horse Nimo, who was sadly put to sleep on the 17th July 2001 at the age of 30. 

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Chapter Four - The Halloween Hoax

"Potter!" said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Might I suggest that you concentrate your attention on turning your buttercup into a butterfly instead of Miss Evans." She raised her thin eyebrows. Lily blushed to the tips of her flame red hair, smiling as James squeezed her hand under the table. For almost a month they had managed to keep their relationship a secret, but a certain Ilianna Harman had yet again been listening in on Tiff and Amber's conversations, and had promptly told the entire school within several hours. Now it was late October, and Lily could safely admit that she was falling in love with James, but only to Tiff and Amber, as they were the only people she trusted at Hogwarts. 

James nodded towards McGonagall and with a cheeky grin, he effortlessly turned the buttercup into a white butterfly, which fluttered above him as he kissed Lily on the cheek. 

  
"Thank you Potter," her thin lips twitched into a small smile. 

"Aww, Lily and Jamie. I just hope that one day I can find a girl who loves me as much as you do James," said Sirius, mockingly holding a hand to his head and pretending to faint. 

"Well there's always Tiff, she's still single," James grinned, putting his arm around Lily. Tiffany looked up and glared at him. Her hair was pulled away from her face and held up with two delicate clips, her eyes accentuated by a hint of gold eye shadow, giving her an air of serenity and grace. 

"I'd rather have manic puppy sex with Severus Snape in a bathtub than go out with Sirius," she said seriously. Everyone laughed. 

"Tiffany Miranda Zabini. I am shocked. I thought I was your one true love, your swan, your mate for life, your..." said Sirius dramatically. 

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I need a man, not a boy," said Tiff, grinning evilly. 

"So you're choosing a tall, greasy haired, big-footed ape, over me?" 

"Well, you know what they say about big feet..." Tiff raised her eyebrows suggestively. 

"Please enlighten us Miss Zabini, and tell us all, what do they say about 'big feet'?" McGonagall chirped from behind Tiff, her beady eyes fixed on Tiff's shocked amethyst ones. Tiff hesitated for a moment as though searching for the right expression. 

"You know the saying Professor, big feet, large shoes," she said, smiling ever so innocently, fluttering her outrageously long eyelashes. McGonagall thought about this for a second, the muscles on her face twitched as she tried to refrain from smiling. 

"I do believe it's time for you to go. Homework is to write a story or diary entry about animagi transformations, handed in on Monday, no excuses," she glanced over at James, Sirius, Remus and Peter who bolted for the door. 

When she was a safe distance from the classroom, Tiff traded a glance with Amber and burst into a fit of giggles. 

"Oh my god, that was so embarrassing. She knew, did you see her smile," Tiff shrieked. 

"I know, it was so funny. Almost as good as the time Sirius fell in the lake twice in one day." Amber grinned. She fell silent however as Sirius and Remus passed. She hadn't spoken to Remus for a week. Amber wanted to know why he kept disappearing once a month, she had grown relentlessly tired of his 'sick mother,' 'dying grandmother' excuses, and had demanded that he either tell her or their relationship was over. There had been many tears shed, but Remus still wouldn't tell her, so Amber regretfully kept her word and had split up with him. 

He smiled weakly at her, obvious pain in his deep brown eyes. 

"Hi Amber," he said softly. "Can I have a word?" 

"Well..." Amber couldn't refuse that hurt puppy look. "Ok." she said stiffly. 

"Come on Tiff," Sirius grabbed her arm and literally dragged her away. 

"But..." she glanced back at Amber, who mouthed, 'Go.' Reluctantly, Tiff followed him down the corridor. 

"Sirius? Where does Remus go to every month? And I want the truth," Tiff asked him. 

"He has to go home, his mum's ill quite often," said Sirius flatly, not meeting her eyes. 

"Si that's crap and I know it. Tell me the truth, I swear I'll never breathe a word to anyone," she said persuadingly. 

"Well... you swear you wont tell." She nodded earnestly, leaning closer to listen. "Every month, Remus had to go home to feed his chickens. He's so attached to them, he just can't bear to leave them for long periods of time." Sirius grinned as Tiff hit him. 

"You bloody liar, you really thought I'd fall for that? Who do you think I am? Il..." she started, catching sight of a yellow head in the approaching crowd of Ravenclaw girls. Sirius paled.

"Uh-oh, Tiff help me, she's stalking me," he said anxiously as Ilianna caught sight of them and hurried closer. 

"I thought you liked dumb blondes," said Tiff under her breath. "Hey Ilianna!" she said cheerfully in an almost sarcastic way. 

"Hi Tammy. Hiiii Sirius," she purred, fluttering her lashes at him, not even looking at Tiff. 

"It's Tiffany," she said through her teeth, smiling bitchily. 

"Oh, sorry," Ilianna dismissed her quickly, and linked Sirius' arm. "So, where are you off to?" She asked flirtatiously, her friends giggling in the background. 

"Well... I was.. erm..." he looked at Tiff with pleading blue eyes.

"Are you always this articulate?" Ilianna smiled stupidly, trying to pull a 'Tiff'/'Amber'. 

Tiff sighed. "Come on Sirius, we'll be late. We wouldn't want to disappoint Lily and James." Tiff pulled Sirius away from Ilianna and took his hand, trying not to cringe or throw up. 

"Of course darling," Sirius nodded to Ilianna and her friends, and walked away with Tiffany, hand in hand, sighing thankfully. 

"You two are going out?" Ilianna asked loudly, a shocked expression on her face. They turned round, Tiffany smiled triumphantly. 

"Didn't you know that Ilianna? My, my, you are behind on the gossip," she raised her eyebrows at Ilianna's frustration. 

"Is this true Sirius?" said Ilianna hotly. Tiff and Sirius traded a glance. 

"Of course it is. I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner. Tiff and I are quite the couple." Sirius saw Snape and Malfoy further down the corridor. He grinned, knowing full well that Snape was still furious about Care of Magical Creatures. 

"Keep your claws to yourself, he's taken." Tiff whispered to Ilianna who turned bright red and stormed off down the corridor. Ilianna's friends stared after her, as she collided with Snape, then streaked down the corridor howling. Snape looked shocked for a minute, then stared at Sirius loathingly. 

Sirius smirked, before bending his head and kissing a bemused Tiff on the lips passionately. After several seconds he pulled back, took her hand and walked away, grinning at Snape's furious face. Snape stared after Sirius' retreating back, the utter most hatred coursing through his veins. 

"I'll get you for this, Black," he muttered under his breath, his tone murderous. 

Tiffany dragged Sirius round the corner, stomping furiously. When they were a safe distance away she stopped and turned to face him. 

"What the hell did you think you were doing? Do you have any idea how quickly that'll get round? I mean, she hates me even more now and... aggghh!" Tiff shrieked, blushing furiously, the taste of 'Sirius' still on her lips. 

"Excuse me, but you're the one who said, and this is a direct quote, 'keep your claws to yourself, he's taken'!" Sirius retorted, a silly grin creeping over his face. 

"You know I only said that to piss her off," she hissed menacingly. Tiff glared at him frostily then stormed off towards the common room. 

"Kinky chicken," she snapped at the Fat Lady who looked shocked, but let her in nonetheless. Sirius followed her, trying to hide his amusement at her reaction. 

"Yeah, well I think it worked, she looked pretty 'pissed' to me," he called, walking through the common room, which had suddenly fallen silent, in pursuit of Tiff. 

"Well if it gets out, I'll blame you. You just had to do it in front of bloody Snape, Malfoy and all those twittering little idiots from Ravenclaw..." Tiff fumed, completely oblivious to the wide eyed stares of James, Lily and Peter. 

What did you do now Sirius?" asked Peter warily. 

"More like what didn't he do?!" she shrieked. 

"Nothing. I didn't do anything ok?" he gave Tiff a meaningful stare. "And thank you, for rescuing me," he added in an undertone to her, his eyes growing serious. 

"It's ok," she whispered, smiling slightly. "But... why?" she wailed. 

"Erm, you two? Are you going to tell us what's going on or are we supposed to try and guess?" asked Lily, a bewildered look on her face. 

"That's a good idea, isn't it Sirius. Lets see if they can **guess **what just happened." Tiff grinned evilly as Sirius cringed. God, he would feel so embarrassed if Tiff told James and Remus that he'd kissed her. Why had he kissed her anyway? Was it to get back at Snape? Infuriate Malfoy? Make Ilianna seethingly jealous? Or was it because he liked her? Really liked her? Liked her so much that he didn't even realise it himself? Nah, get back at Snape was most probably the main reason - or was it? 

Tiffany sat down in a plush velvet chair. She winked at Sirius, who backed away towards the boy's dorm. 

"Erm, let's not. Besides, I have... umm, homework," he said nervously, disappearing up the stairs. Lily looked shocked. 

"Since when does Sirius do homework?" she asked incredulously. Tiffany smiled secretively.

* * *

"Remus I've already told you that I wont tell anyone. Why can't you trust me?" asked Amber, her voice shaking with distress. 

"I do trust you Amber, it's just... complicated. You wouldn't understand..." he muttered, walking away. 

"Remus..." Amber gasped, her green eyes shone with tears. He turned back to her and took her in his arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I... miss you," she cried, burying her head in his shoulder. 

"Me too," he said, stroking her goldy-bronze hair. "Maybe it's for the best though... I don't want to hurt you." 

"Well what do you think you're doing now?" she shrieked, jumping backwards, a stricken look on her face. 

"Amber, I don't want to hurt you," he repeated, this time more forcefully. "I care about you way too much," he leant forwards and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Goodbye," he whispered, his fingertips gently brushed across her cheekbone in the image of a caress. Remus walked away from Amber, and out of her life. 

Somehow, Amber managed to make her way to the girls toilets, where she collapsed into huge racking sobs. 

"What's wrong with you?" A pearly white figure wearing glasses and a dull expression glided towards Amber. 

"Nothing, nothing..." She said quickly, attempting to dry her eyes only to succeed in bringing forth a fresh wave of tears which had been threatening to spill out ever since she'd broken up with Remus. 

"Is someone bullying you? That used to happen to me too," said the ghost thickly. Amber sniffed. 

"No, it's just..." she sobbed. "God look at me! I'm pathetic, getting hysterical over a boy..." she grinned sadly, taking in her puffy, red eyes and dishevelled hair in the mirror.

"Oh. Well I never got to know much about boys. I died before I got the chance to date," the ghost sniffled, floating above the cistern on the U-bend. 

"Sorry Myrtle, I bet I'm making you feel awful. But, you're right. There's more to life than boys," said Amber, drying her eyes. 

"Tactless..." Myrtle shrieked, bursting into tears.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I'll go now," she said timidly, walking out of the toilets with a new found determination. 

As the days got shorter and the nights grew longer, Autumn drew to an end on the Hogwarts grounds. James woke up to find the castle obscured by a dense fog; the only ground visible was gently frosted, like icing sugar on a cake. The beds were empty. _Hmm, they left me_, James grumbled, quickly dressing and heading towards the Great Hall in search of Remus, Sirius and Peter. 

"So you finally woke up eh? Sleeping Beauty," Sirius grinned, nudging Peter and winking. 

"You could've waited for me," James sat down next to Sirius, piling his plate with bacon, eggs and toast. 

"Nah," Sirius shook his head. 

"James." He looked up to see Lily sitting opposite him. James smiled at her. "Where've you been?" she said, her green eyes shimmered like emeralds. 

"Sleepin," he replied, taking a bite of his toast.

__

Ok, don't look up, look at your plate. Now talk to Tiff, CALMLY. DON'T CRY. Breathe. Do not make eye contact of any kind. None. Ok...

Amber raised her eyes, taking care to look directly at Tiffany, and not to the right where Remus was sitting. 

"You know Tiff, I've been hearing the strangest things about you," said Amber, forcing a grin. 

"And I'd be right in guessing that they're bad things," said Tiff, silently cursing Ilianna Harman and all female Ravenclaw students. 

"Well, it all depends on how you define 'bad'." said Amber, a smirk creeping over her face as she tried to picture Tiff with Sirius. _Nope, not working at all,_ she thought. "If you call, and I quote from Miss Ilianna Lousiana Harman of Ravenclaw, 'snogging like a deprived prostitute with my poor darling little Sirius, who had not a chance to escape,'" she grinned as Tiff snorted, spitting out half her breakfast. 

"Really?" said Tiff, recovering, only looking vaguely interested, and slightly amused. "So I see Ilianna has extended her vocabulary beyond the simple insults of 'bitch,' 'cow' and 'slag'. I am impressed." Tiff grinned mockingly. "Oi, Sirius." she shouted, across the table. "Do you know what I just heard? The strangest bloody rumour about me and you..." she grinned as he motioned for her to stop, his face turning slightly red. 

"So you have heard the rumours." Amber grinned. "And do you admit to them?" she asked slyly. 

"Absolutely no comment whatsoever," she said without a trace of emotion in her face suggesting otherwise. 

"You know what that means," Amber laughed, her green eyes twinkling merrily for the first time in weeks. "Did you? I wont tell anyone," she said in an undertone, giggling. 

Tiff gave her a sincere look, glanced at Sirius, then brought her gaze back to Amber. She took a sip of pumpkin juice and smiled neutrally. 

"What do you think?" she said, her eyebrows raised suggestively as she rose from the table and walked out of the hall, winking at Amber and Sirius. 

"Hi Tiff," a brown haired girl waved at her from the corridor. 

"Hey Bella, I haven't seen you for ages," Tiff greeted the seventh year warmly. Arabella Figg was one of her close friends, almost like a big sister to her. 

"I know, so how've you been? Whatcha been up to?" she asked, her brown eyes glinting mischievously. 

"Hmm, rumours really do spread like wildfire," said Tiff, smiling secretively. 

"About you and Sirius Black? I'm not surprised, that blonde girl's ever so jealous, you should watch out for her. She could destroy you," said Arabella wisely. 

"You mean, Little Miss 'My Bust Is Bigger Than My Brain' Harman? I think not somehow. And by the way, she has nothing to be jealous of," said Tiff confidently. 

"So that means..." Arabella raised her eyebrows, a sly smile creeping on to her slim face. 

"You're a smart girl. Work it out," Tiff walked away, grinning at Arabella's confused look. Oh how she loved being mysterious...

* * *

"So, did you?"

"Yeah, tell us."

"No." 

"Is that a 'no you didn't' or a 'no you wont tell us'?" squeaked Peter, his beady eyes darting from side-to-side excitedly. 

"That's a 'no I wont tell you so don't even bother asking'," said Sirius bluntly. James and Peter grinned maliciously. 

"Hahah, Sirius's got a crush on Tiiiiiiiiff," Peter chanted. Lily gave him a stern, silencing look, then promptly burst into giggles, unable to contain herself any longer. 

"No I haven't!" said Sirius indignantly, glaring at the three of them. Remus stayed silent, smiling ever so slightly. Sirius frowned. 

"What's wrong?" he asked Remus who was staring after Amber as she left the hall in search of Tiff. 

"What? Oh, nothing..." he muttered, lowering his eyes. 

"Sorry about you and Amber. She's really upset you hasn't she," said Sirius, for once being totally serious. 

Lily spluttered into her juice. "Excuse me, but do you have any idea how she feels?" said Lily, indignantly. 

"Ahem, Lil, I think it's best you keep out of this one," said James, tentatively placing his hand over hers. 

"You're telling me what to do?" said Lily, quietly yet menacingly. 

"No, no. Just advising you," he said quickly, knowing better than to get Lily into one of her 'feminist' moods. 

She regarded him with piercing green eyes, then looked away, she smiled slightly. "I know you mean well Jamie, but... Remus, she's so unhappy." she said, gazing at Remus with sympathetic green eyes. 

"I know..." he said quietly, blushing shamefully. 

* * *

"I'm bored!" Sirius grunted to Remus, his eyes half closed as he lounged on the chair, desperately trying to escape from the intoxicating fumes which were wafting towards him from Professor Trelawney's fire. "We haven't pulled a prank for AGES," he sighed heavily, inhaling the scent of lavender and honeysuckle which was starting to make him dizzy. 

"He's right," squeaked Peter. 

"Hmm, we need James. He's been spending far too much time with Lily," said Remus thoughtfully. 

"Yes, you're right. Oi James, c'mere," Sirius hissed at James who was sitting with Lily on a sofa. James pulled up a chair and looked at Sirius earnestly. 

"What?" he asked. Peter smiled evilly. 

"James, do you think that you could possibly dedicate just one day out of your busy, super-smoochie lifestyle, to us?" said Peter, his grey eyes looked pleadingly innocent as he pushed a lock of thin, sandy hair behind his ear. 

James frowned slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked, clearly confused. 

"James, we never get to see you anymore. Lily stole you away from us." Sirius glared jokingly at Lily. "We're the Marauders, and lately, we haven't been... well... marauding!" He exclaimed. 

James twitched a little, feeling guilty. "Well, I suppose I have been neglecting you recently. Ok, who's up for a prank. A really big prank?" he said excitedly, grinning craftily. 

"Yes!" shouted Remus and Peter. 

"Shh, you are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations of the room," hissed Professor Trelawney, looking displeased with the foursome. 

"Is that the one in her head or the one on her chair?" said Tiff, very quietly so that only Amber, Lily, Remus, Sirius, Peter and James could hear her, as they were all sitting near each other. Sirius snorted and covered his mouth quickly to muffle the sound, James held a laugh in, looking like he would burst, Lily emitted a tinkering laugh whilst Amber, Remus and Peter grinned manically. 

"I think she was talking about the one that went through the back door," Amber giggled. Tiff burst out laughing, only to receive an angry glare from Professor Trelawney. 

"When some of the more juvenile students have quite finished, we will hear what Mr. Black sees in the depths of his crystal ball," she snapped, dropping her usual airy grace. 

"Probably his crystal balls," smirked Tiff. Amber and Lily tried their hardest not to laugh. They chuckled quietly as Sirius peered into his *ahem* misty, crystal ball. A dreamy look came over Sirius' face. 

"I see a shape." he said bluntly. All he really saw was mist, so as he was bored, he decided to make it up and amuse himself. Professor Trelawney smiled slightly. 

"And what does it resemble? A person? An animal?" she suggested. 

"An animal. It looks like a horse." Sirius caught Tiff's eye and grinned, remembering the train journey. "No, wait. There's two horses." 

"And what are the horses doing?" she asked. 

"Erm..." Sirius grinned evilly. "Well, one horse is half standing on top of the other one. No.. wait... now it's moving. Up and then back down again." The class started snickering whilst Professor Trelawney frowned. 

"Now really, how childish!" she snapped. "Sit back down, and ten points from Gryffindor for your immaturity... honestly," she muttered angrily. 

Sirius sat back down near Tiff who grinned and mouthed, "Good one." Amber, Lily and James raised their eyebrows suggestively. 

"Ow that was my foot!"

"That was my eye!"

Four bodies shuffled out of the portrait hole and towards the Slytherin Common room, bound to each other by James's invisibility cloak. They stopped outside a blank wall near the dungeons. 

"What's the password?" hissed Sirius. 

"Mouldy Fort," said Peter, the stone wall slid open leaving a narrow gap. 

"How do you know?" hissed Remus, accidentally stubbing his foot on the wall. 

"I have my sources," Peter replied. The four of them made their way, silently towards the 5th year dormitory. 

"Ok, Remus, Peter. You two stay here and keep lookout, if you hear anything come and tell us. We don't want to get caught." said James, recovering him and Sirius with the cloak. 

"Ok," they whispered. James and Sirius crept into the room, in which four boys lay sound asleep behind the dense green curtains on the four poster beds. They tiptoed up to one of the beds. 

"Is it his?" whispered Sirius, James pulled back the curtain a couple of inches. 

"Yep," James grinned, squinting at the sleeping form of Severus Snape; greasy hair all over the place, and his mouth wide open, snoring gently. 

Sirius rummaged through the drawers in the bedside table. He smirked triumphantly. 

"Got 'em," he held up a pair of white underpants, smiling evilly. 

"Brilliant, now, just one last thing." James took out a red marker pen; the name 'Zonko's Original' gleamed bright silver in the moonlight. James bent over Snape for a minute, then turned to Sirius grinninng his old manic smile. 

"What did you do?" asked Sirius, moving to get a closer look. His breath caught in his throat as he fought hard not to laugh. He looked at James, his whole body shaking with mirth. "That's great, but wont he just wash it off in the morning?" he chuckled silently. 

"Nope, it's a form of invisible ink. Only invisible to the beholder of course. When he looks in the mirror he wont notice a thing, but we will." James snickered, Snape stirred in his sleep. "Come on, lets go." They walked out and collected Remus and Peter. 

"Did you do it?" asked Remus. 

"Sure did, and Jamie added a little extra feature," said Sirius grinned from under the cloak. 

"Which was...?"

"Wait until breakfast tomorrow." he winked. 

"Tomorrow's Halloween," said Peter as they left the dungeons and entered the Great Hall. 

"Sure is, right, time for part B." James pulled out his wand pointed it at the pants. "Engorgio," he whispered as they expanded to the size of a cloak. He magically attached the underpants to the Slytherin banner. James raised his wand again and muttered, "Ecrivus." Silver writing appeared above the pants, contrasting brightly with the green flag. Sirius and Remus snorted. 

"I can't wait for morning," said Sirius dreamily. They made their way back towards the Gryffindor tower, narrowly avoiding Flich and Mrs. Norris in the corridor. 

"Ahhh, Morning Sirius." said Tiff, staggering down the stairs into the common room. "Morning Remus, Peter, Ja... Ja... Jaaaaaames," she yawned, stretching gracefully. 

"Good morning Tiffany," said Sirius politely, unable to wipe the smile off his face. 

"What've you done?" She glanced down at her clothes and touched her hair quickly. 

"Nothing, well... something," he grinned wickedly, winking at James. 

"Ok, something being...?" said Tiff expectantly. 

"Tell Lily and Amber to hurry up. We don't want them to miss this." James smiled secretively. Tiff frowned slightly, then turned and ran up the stairs to find Lily. 

A minute later she returned dragging a disgruntled Amber and an inquisitive Lily. 

"Morning darling." James scooped Lily up in his arms and gave her a quick kiss. Lily regarded him with curious green eyes. 

"Morning. So, what's the big thing that you can't wait to show me?" she asked. 

"Well, now that you're all here... come on." James grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her out of the common room, towards the Great Hall. 

"You'll love this..." said Sirius to Tiff and Amber. 

"What've you done?" Amber exclaimed, looking at the crowd of laughing students ahead. 

"Yeah Sirius? Oh my god! It's not about me is it?" Tiff panicked. 

"No, of course not. You really think I'm that evil?" he said, giving her a lopsided grin. 

"Just curious," she raised her eyebrows and gave him a cute smile. 

"All of you remember though, we knew nothing about it at all," said Remus, his eyes meeting Amber's briefly. 

The seven of them entered the hall together, and promptly sat down at the Gryffindor table. Everyone was laughing, even Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall who rarely even smiled. Sirius leant towards Tiff and whispered, "Look up." She did and immediately noticed the large white, erm, thing? obscuring the Slytherin dragon. Tiff stared at it for several long seconds then burst out laughing. Lily and Amber looked at her, confused. She pointed upwards, snickering, then read the writing. 

"The slimy, greasy haired person who these belong to shall remain nameless. Some Naughty Animals Poo Everywhere." The whole hall erupted with laughter again, Tiff grinned at Sirius and James. 

"Brilliant," she mouthed, shaking her head incredulously. She looked up again and furrowed her brow, noticing an image and writing on the underpants. Tiff squinted upwards, then giggled. The picture on the underpants, correction, Y fronts, was of a unicorn's head, directly on the crotch. "Use the Horn?!?!?" she read, chuckling and shaking her head again. "Unbelievable. How on earth did you get them?" she asked Remus. 

"Aha, a true Marauder never reveals his secrets," he said mysteriously. 

"Ok then. So has the owner actually seen this yet?" She looked around the Hall for Snape's distinguishably greasy head. He was nowhere to be seen. 

"I don't think so. He's a heavy sleeper." Sirius grinned. At that moment, the room fell silent as Severus Snape walked in with his roommates, Bartok Parkinson, Rodregus Flint and Iain McKinsky. There was a long moment in which everyone stared at; Snape, Snape's sniggering friends, and Snape's forehead which read, "SPANK ME HARD!" After a brief silence, everyone started laughing again, many people were openly pointing at his forehead. Snape looked around, bewildered. Tiffany actually felt sorry for him. His eyes darted to the ceiling, and he finally saw the banner. Snape went very red and gazed around the room, his eyes narrowing to evil looking slits as he saw James and Sirius laughing hard. He dashed across the hall, knocking several students to the floor. 

"Potter!" he shouted, pulling out his wand and glaring furiously at a shocked James. 

"Yes Severus?" said James politely, not a trace of a grin on his face. "Is there anything you'd like me to do? Or is that question too HARD for you?" said James seriously. Lily and Amber collapsed into giggles whilst Tiff and Sirius both tried to keep straight faces. 

"You..." said Snape menacingly, he pointed his wand at James' throat. 

"Yes Severus, me...?" said James, grinning slyly. 

"You... did this..." hissed Snape, his face contorted with rage. James frowned. 

"You think I did this? Oh no, no, no my dear friend, not at all, not at all," his voice dripped with sarcasm. Snape's eyes looked ready to pop out his head. 

"James," Lily placed a hand on his arm protectively, staring at Snape coldly, as though daring him to do something. 

"I'll get you for this Potter. Make no mistake of that," Snape turned on the heel and strode out of the Hall, tripping on the hem of his robes as he reached the door, then storming off angrily. 

There was a long silence in which glances were traded and the quiet snickering grew louder. 

"Well he's not a happy bunny," laughed Sirius. 

"Potter. Black. Are you two responsible for this?" Professor McGonagall asked solemnly, they stopped giggling immediately. 

Sirius put on a cheeky smile. 

"Us? Of course not Professor, honestly. What do you take us for? Fools?" he exclaimed, his blue eyes large and innocent. 

She gave them a sceptic look, then walked back to the staff table without another word. They breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Phew. I thought she had us then," said James nervously. 

"Well done Sirius. You had the innocent look perfect there," Tiff grinned. 

"Thanks," Sirius winked, and raised his glass in a mock toast. "To Severus Snape's unicorn Y fronts!" he said dramatically. They all raised their glasses, sombre looks on their faces. 

"Severus Snape's Unicorn Y fronts," they drank deeply from their goblets of iced pumpkin juice, snorting with laughter. 

"Happy Halloween!" Amber grinned merrily. 


	5. Family, Friends and Foes

a/n Thanks for all the lovely reviews, you really cheered me up :) I know this has turned into a Sirius/Tiff thing instead of Lily/James, but it does have a point - trust me! I'll try to put more of L/J into it, but I think I work better with Si/Tiff. Oh, btw, Amber will be finding out next chapter plus, many of you want Sirius and Tiff, hmmm... **looks at plan and smirks** hehehe, I'm revealing nothing on that area. Sorry I've taken so long to post but lots has been happening; going on holiday and getting a new horse (which is called Merlin!!! Total coincidence!) By the way, this fic is a prequal for my next one, just kind of a background thing. Anyway, on with the fic...

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Chapter Five - Family, Friends and Foes

"My Lord. It has been accomplished. The child is dead." A masked, hooded figure knelt before a pale man seated on an emerald throne, dark power radiating from him. 

"Excellent Rosier, you have proven yourself to be one of my most loyal death eaters. In time, you will be highly rewarded. Now that Alexandria is gone, there is only the Potter boy to worry about." said Voldemort, his cold voice triumphant. 

"The Potter boy master? Do you wish me to dispose of him?" asked Rosier eagerly. 

"No. You have done your part in getting rid of the little witch. I will take care of the boy myself, it may be hard gaining access to him. He will be under Dumbledore's protection, which may prove to be more useful than not," said Voldemort evilly. Rosier frowned from behind his mask. 

"But surely my Lord. Under Dumbledore's protection... how do you plan to get near him, if I may ask?" said Rosier nobly, without a trace of mockery. Voldemort narrowed his slit-like eyes and hissed. A rattlesnake slithered onto his lap and wound itself round his arm. He looked from the snake to Evan Rosier who was still in prostration. 

"I have my spies Rosier, spies of all species, snakes being my preference of course. But one, the most recent addition to our family, has proven himself to be quite useful," Voldemort sneered. 

"Our little friend, I have questions about where his loyalties lie. How can you be sure that he's really on our side, and not spying on us for the Potters?" asked Rosier, a worried frown appeared on his face. 

"I don't know for certain. But I believe that he is one of us, he has told us far too much information about the Potters to be truly on their side. No, he will prove himself, one day..." he grinned evilly, petting the snake with his free hand. 

"He is close to the Potters I presume?" asked Rosier, a satisfactory smile replacing the frown. 

"Yes..." hissed Voldemort. A deranged cackle echoed throughout the chambers of the black fortress. Vengeful waves crashed up the crystal walls outside, thunder rolled through purple clouds, the atmosphere was electrical, creating an undeniable sense of foreboding. 

Tiffany sat bolt upright, sweating and breathing heavily. She could remember the dream this time, clear as glass. She glanced at the window as a cloud shifted and the room was bathed in the silvery light of the full moon. 

"Voldemort..." she whispered to herself, daring to say the name that so many had already begun to fear. She was certain that it was him in her dream. Tiffany rose silently, and walked over to the wash stand, intent on getting a glass of water. She looked out the window, across the grounds which were eerily quiet in the night. She gulped down the water, trying to arrange her thoughts in some sort of order. She set down her cup, and was just about to turn away when she noticed movement out the corner of her eye. She peered through the glass onto the grounds near the forest, where the trees were being blown by harsh winds. Out of the forest came several animals. Firstly a stag, it's magnificent head gazing skywards at the moon, and then to the horizon where a faint blue glow showed the swiftly approaching dawn. Next came two dogs, no wait... A dog and a wolf, one black and looking uncannily like a Grim, the other brown and sinewy, smaller than the dog but more ferocious looking. Finally a little white speck in the grass, which had to be a rat, as it was too big for a mouse and too small for a ferret. The stag herded the wolf towards the Whomping Willow, gently prodding it towards the roots with its antlers. For a minute the tree froze; it's branches which normally thrashed wildly were blown by the wind alone, making it look almost like an ordinary tree. As the wolf slipped out of sight, the other three animals made their way towards the castle. 

Tiff looked around the dorm, frowning. Lily and Amber were still fast asleep; six ten on her watch, Tiff grabbed a blanket off the end of her bed and went into the common room for a hot chocolate. She drank it slowly, snuggling into the blanket whilst curled up in an armchair near the fire. She slowly grew drowsier, just a single thought in her head; something about the stag and antlers which was familiar to her. 

"Should we wake her?" 

"Yeah, really loudly!"

"Let her sleep."

"Nah, it's time for her to get up anyway." Sirius leant towards Tiff who was fast asleep on the chair. "Tiffikins, time to get up!" he chanted softly, in a sing-song voice. "Wakey wakey." Tiff's dark lashes fluttered gently, she opened her eyes, slowly focusing on Sirius. 

"Am I still having a nightmare or is Sirius really here?" she said aloud. Sirius giggled then put on a serious face. 

"I resent that. If you really were dreaming of me then it'd be a good dream, full of kink." he grinned as Tiff yawned and sat up slightly. She blinked twice then looked around the common room. 

"Shut up Sirius. What am I doing down here?" she asked, puzzled. 

"Erm, I dunno. We were just coming er... down to breakfast and there you were. Sleeping like a small child without a care in the world." said Sirius, smiling at her fondly. 

"And that's why you're sweating like a paedophile in a nursery. So early in the morning too." Tiff raised her eyebrows and stood up, the blanket wrapped tightly around her. Sirius wiped his brow self-consciously. Damn, he was sweating, probably all that running around in the forest, he thought. Sirius frowned at her. 

"I'm going to get changed," she shuffled off to her room, occasionally tripping on the blanket. 

"James, where's Remus?" asked Amber, her curiosity getting the better of her. James looked up from his breakfast, he glanced at Sirius, then back to Amber. 

"Hospital Wing, he's ill," said James around a mouthful of food. Lily gave him a disapproving look. 

"Don't talk with your mouth full. Honestly, are you a man or an animal?" she said, frowning. 

"He's an animal! Aren't you Prongsie?" Sirius grinned at James who was laughing surreptitiously. Tiff looked slowly from Sirius to James. _Prongs.... _she thought. 

"Sure Padfoot, I'm as much as an animal as you are a dog." he said, a slightly secretive grin creeping across his face, as Lily and Amber thought that they were just trading insults. _Prongs... Padfoot..._

"Oi Wormtail! Over here," Sirius waved to Peter who was walking through the doors. 

(a/n not too much of a coincidence eh?!?!)

"Thanks for that Si. I might not've noticed you at the table where we always sit; morning, noon and night." said Peter sarcastically. _Prongs... Padfoot... Wormtail... what do they always call Remus? _Tiff thought hard for several moments. _Moony? _She was sure that was it. _Right, so it's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs..._ Tiff's eyes widened as realisation dawned on her. _Ohmygod,_ she thought incoherently. 

"Hey Tiff," Peter smiled at her, blushing slightly. Tiff looked up, bewildered. She stared at Peter, _rat_, then Sirius, _dog_, and finally James who was joking with Lily about the size of Snape's nose, _stag_, she thought. _So that means that Remus is..._

"Holy shit!" Tiff exclaimed, her face set in a horrified expression. 

"What?" said Peter, looking at her curiously. She stared at him for a long moment, then she left the table hastily, without another word. 

"What's her problem?" asked Sirius, sounding as though he couldn't care less. 

"SO anyway... what's wrong with Remus exactly?" asked Amber. inquisitively 

"Sick."

"Headache." said James and Sirius at the same time. Amber narrowed her eyes, knowing fully well that they were both lying. 

"I'll find out, one way or another," she said determinedly. Sirius and James exchanged a worried look. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god! Remus is a werewolf? Does anyone know? Duh, of course! That's why he was going into the Whomping Willow. Sirius, James and Peter... they're animagus? How on earth did they do that? It can't be right... can it? It's the only explanation..." Tiff thought wildly to herself as she hurried along the corridor towards the Medical Wing. She had to see Remus to talk to him about this. _So this is what he wouldn't tell Amber? _Tiff genuinely didn't blame him. She knew that Amber would throw a fit when she found out, but Tiff was sure that she'd understand. Eventually. 

"Tiffany." came a sharp voice, directly in front of her. 

"Oh," she jumped back, startled and not exactly pleased to see Lucius Malfoy with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. "Hello," she said politely. 

"Tiffany Zabini. Your family is an old one, almost as old as mine. You're from a long line of purebloods." he stated simply, his cold grey eyes flickering to her confused purple ones. 

"Erm, yes. I suppose I am. Although that doesn't really mean anything," she said coyly. 

"Not to you maybe." he said, moving closer to her. _Ok, his eyes are really scaring me..._ she thought. He leaned closer, his face only inches from hers. _Ok, I'm terrified now... HELP ME!_ she thought wildly. "I want you..." he said, softly yet ambiguously. "... to come to the Christmas Ball with me." Tiffany stared at him for a second, then frowned. 

"The what?" she asked, genuinely not having a clue what he was talking about. 

"The Christmas Ball," he repeated. "You know, Dumbledore's way of making up for the cancelled Hogsmeade trip," he said at her blank face. 

"Oh," she said simply. "I really ought to listen more. I didn't even know that a Hogsmeade trip was cancelled, silly me. So, when is this 'Ball'?" she asked, immediately regretting it afterwards. 

"Two days before the end of term. So, I'll see you there," he said, a self-satisfied smirk crept over his pale, pointed face. 

"Oh you'll see me there alright." He grinned. "But not with you." she added, smirking irresistibly. How she loved to be a bitch! 

"And why not with me? You're not going with anyone else are you?" he said huffily. 

"Because I don't want to go with you Lucius. You insult all my friends and then expect me to go on a bloody date with you? I think not somehow." she exclaimed, letting stress get the better of her. "Now could you just leave me alone, because before you held me up I was actually on my way somewhere." And with that Tiffany stalked off down the hall, leaving behind her a shocked Malfoy and his bodyguards. 

"She'll regret that," Malfoy hissed under his breath. 

Tiff pushed her hair off her face, she sighed with frustration. Out of the shadows a soft clapping noise sounded, as though gently mocking her. Tiff glared at the figure which emerged. 

"Stunning performance darling. I really must say," came a rich, British accent. The boy was tall and lithe with perfectly chiselled features, dark hair and wicked brown eyes that sparkled with intelligence and wit. 

"Go away. I'm not in a good mood and I doubt you'll do much to improve it." she snapped at the boy, who started walking alongside her. 

"Now now, Tiff. Don't turn me away, I have advice," he said, grinning mischievously, although his dark eyes held a certain amount of knowledge that seemed far too much for his seventeen or eighteen years. 

"Ok, just tell me whatever it is. I have to go soon," she said quickly, knowing that it would do her more good than harm to listen. 

"Ok. Some things are worth waiting for, and you did well by refusing Malfoy - pimp - congrats on that accomplishment. Also, don't dig yourself in too deep, don't get too involved in things that really don't concern you. That's all. Oh, and beware the ape with three legs," he said with a grin and walked off. She thought about this for a moment, then stared after his retreating back. 

"Zane." The boy turned and grinned at Tiff. "Thanks," she said, smiling slightly. He winked, then strode off. 

Tiff shook her head disbelievingly, in half an hour she'd discovered that Remus was a werewolf, Sirius, Peter and James were animagi, there was a Christmas Ball being held, and she had consorted with four death eaters, one of whom was a seer. 

"Well, this is definitely not my day," she said aloud, chuckling disbelievingly. She could remember when she was about five and used to play with Zane in Bluebell Woods near the creek in her hometown. That was before Zane's father, her uncle, had turned to the dark side. Now she never saw anyone from her father's side of the family, they were all supporters of Voldemort. Tiffany was surprised that Zane still spoke to her, seeing as he'd just been 'recruited'. But even after that, he still regarded her as his little cousin, always picking her up when she fell, helping her out of sticky situations. He could see the future through dreams and visions; his power had only really awakened within the last six years of Hogwarts through Divination lessons with the amateur Professor Trelawney. He had the sight even when they were little. He'd always known where to go when they were lost, and where not to go when danger was around. His visions had helped Tiff a lot, quite a lot recently...

Tiff walked into the Medical Wing; Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, but looking straight at her, with his sad but knowledgeable brown eyes, was Remus. She stared at him, standing stock-still, not knowing what to say. 

"Hello Tiff..."

* * *

"James... Please...?" Amber whined, clinging onto his arm. 

"No, I'm not telling you," he said, trying to shake her off and failing. 

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaase," she said. "Just give me a clue then."

"No. If you want to find out, go the Hospital Wing and ask him yourself," he snapped, detaching himself from her grip. Amber frowned. 

"He wont tell me, I've asked him so many times." she said, looking dejected. 

"Amber, why do you think he hasn't told you?" said Sirius, trying to be helpful. 

"Because he hates me and probably thinks that I'll tell the whole school with my big gob!" she said resentfully. Sirius, James and Lily all tried to hide their laughter. 

"Amber you couldn't be more wrong if you tried!" Lily giggled. 

"Well you tell me why then." she snapped. Lily immediately sobered, and put an arm around Amber, who was more upset than she looked. 

"Amber. Remus loves you. Even Sirius's noticed!" Sirius snorted at this. "I don't know why he wont tell you, but I do know that he doesn't want to hurt you. If that makes any sense at all," said Lily, frowning at her own advice. 

"She's right Amber. He really cares about you. I think you should go and see him." said James encouragingly. Amber glanced at each of her friends, giving them all an appreciative look. 

"Right. I'm going to get some answers," she said determinedly, turning around and walking in the opposite direction to the others. 

"Ok, just don't upset him."

"And be nice. See you in DADA."

"Remember to use protection," shouted Sirius. Lily and James gave him a long look. "What? It could happen," he shrugged, then ran to catch Peter up. 

* * *

"Hello Remus. How're you feeling?" Tiff walked towards him cautiously. "Is Pomfrey here?" she asked, looking around cautiously. 

"No, she had to talk to Dumbledore about something." He looked exhausted. His face was pale and ghostly, with lilac shadows under his eyes. On his arm were a few scratches and a painful looking bruise. 

Tiff just stared, not knowing what to say. She edged a little closer to him. 

"I don't bite." said Remus sombrely. Tiff's eyes widened. _It's just Remus..._she thought. She sat down on the edge of his bed. 

"That's a nasty bruise," she stared at his arm. 

"Sure is," he grimaced. "Was there anything you wanted Tiff? I'm assuming you're not here for a health check." Tiff frowned. It wasn't like Remus to be this sarcastic... it kind of scared her a little. 

"Why am I such a wimp?" she thought to herself, not realising that she was saying it aloud. Remus gave her a strange look. 

"Erm, I don't know. Why are you such a wimp?" he said tentatively. 

"Oh, bugger. I just said that didn't I?" Tiff looked mortified, then flopped down on the bed, half lying, half sitting on it. 

"You know! This really isn't my day. More things have happened to me in the last hour than in a week." she stressed. 

"Why? Did Sirius get you in the broom cupboard again?" he asked innocently. Tiff hit him with a pillow. 

"You know that never happened," she said mutinously. 

"Ok, ok. So, what's your problem?" he said, sitting up, looking more awake. 

"Well.... actually it's you," she gazed at him awkwardly. 

"Me...?" he looked a little worried. 

"Look, Remus..." she looked around the room quickly. It was deserted. She leant closer. "I know," she whispered. 

"What do you know?" he replied softly, his large brown eyes quivering with fright. 

"I know about your... monthly changes, and I know about Si, Peter and James." 

"Who told you?" his voice shook and his hands were visibly trembling. 

"No-one, honestly. They're having more trouble keeping Amber from finding out to worry about suspicious little me. I worked it out by myself. You know, it really doesn't help with the nicknames. That's what tipped me off," she said truthfully. 

"Does anyone else know? ... Amber...?" he asked. 

"No, I don't think so. Amber definitely doesn't know. It's driving her insane," Tiff giggled. Remus smiled weakly. 

"So.. what are you going to do now?" he asked, tensing up. 

"What do you mean?" Tiff then noticed how scared he looked. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not going to tell anyone. Jesus, is that all you give me credit for?" She laughed softly. "Aww, you're so stupid sometimes. We're your friends, how could you not tell us." 

"I wasn't sure how you'd react. People have said they're my friends then ran a mile when I told them." Tiff visibly melted, she sat next to him, and gave him a big cuddle. 

"Awwww, I don't care Remie. Look at what I've got for family, a bunch of bloody Voldie Worshippers! And look at the men I attract; Malfoy, Snape, Sirius..." she screwed her face up in disgust. "At least you've got Amber." 

"Correction HAD Amber. She dumped me if you remember. And anyway, what's so bad about Sirius liking you? More to the point how'd you figure that one out?" 

"I didn't. You just told me," Tiff grinned evilly as Remus looked horrified. "Well, well, well, I never would've guessed."

"Oh my god! Please don't let him know I told you. He'll kill me. And I mean, absolutely slaughter me," Remus looked mortified. 

"Relax, I wont tell him. I'll just have a bit of fun. Oh, and by the way, don't let on to them lot that I know, ok? Does Lily know?" 

"Erm, ok, and I think James told her." he replied. 

"Right. Hmm, I'd better be going now, DADA. When are you coming back to normal lessons?" she asked brightly. 

"Probably tomorrow," he replied, looking a great deal happier as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. 

"Great, I'll see you then," Tiff stood up and kissed him on the cheek, ruffling his hair fondly. "Bye," she smiled warmly and left the Hospital Wing. 

"Bye," he called, shaking his head in disbelief. Oh he'd really underestimated that girl. 

"Hi Amber, bye Amber," said Tiff, hurrying to get to her DADA class.

"Tiff." She spun round quickly. "How is he?" asked Amber, her face full of concern. 

"Fine, he's great. Don't worry about him, and don't pressurise too much, bye." She ran the rest of the way down the hall to the classroom. 

"Nice of you to join us Miss Zabini. Seeing as you're late, you can sit next to Mr. Black." Tiff's face split into a wide grin, her eyes sparkling amethyst as she thought of how much she could torment Sirius. But... no, she'd promised Remus, and she was going to keep her word. She sat down next to Sirius, who winked at her. She smiled, batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously. 

"Did you know about the Christmas Ball thingy?" she asked. 

"Erm, yeah. Dumbledore told us yesterday didn't he?" replied Sirius. Tiff shrugged. 

"I dunno, I've only just found out. Shows how much I listen," she snickered. 

"Today class, we will be studying the ways of using and protecting against illegal curses. I assume that you were taught about the Unforgivables last year?" He arched an eyebrow questioningly as the class nodded simultaneously. Professor Jonathon Mondoc had only been teaching at Hogwarts for several months. There were rumours flying round that he was an ex-Auror, but he only looked young, (around 27) so this was probably untrue. The Gryffindors had Defence and Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and had quickly created their own pretentious stories about the mysterious professor, each story being more ludicrous than the first; spy for the Ministry, Spy for Voldemort, Sheep farmer?!? 

"Can anyone tell me one of the six illegal curses which are current favourites of Lord Voldemort?" he said, ignoring some of the students flinching at the mention of 'Voldemort'. "Yes Miss Evans?" Mondoc flashed her a toothy grin; James narrowed his eyes menacingly. 

"Veritas," said Lily knowledgeably. 

"Ah, yes. The Veritas Curse, taken from 'Veritaserum' the truth potion. I believe Voldemort uses this on all wizards, Ministry ones in particular... Miss Evans?" he said as Lily cleared her throat loudly. 

"What about the witches? Not everyone in the magical community is a wizard," she protested; James groaned nonchalantly. 

"The witches as well Evans," he said smoothly with an amused smile. Lily grinned triumphantly. 

"Anymore?" Several hands shot up, including, much to Tiff's amazement, Ilianna's. Mondoc nodded towards the blonde. 

"The Incendium Curse. It shoots fireballs at your opponent, and is commonly used when duelling to the death," she said in her 'barbie-doll' voice. 

"Well done Ilianna, I couldn't have said it better myself. Take ten points for Ravenclaw," he winked as she batted her eyelashes and fluffed her soft blonde hair. 

"No points for guessing who the teachers' pet is today," Tiff whispered to Sirius. 

"Yeah, but maybe she'd like to 'pet the teacher tonight'!" he grinned as Tiff stared at him strangely, appalled. 

"You sicken me," she hissed. 

"I know. But I'm such a funny guy. You gotta love me," he gave her a cute, puppy dog smile. 

"Of course Si! We love the way you're funny looking," she said sombrely. He frowned, then narrowed his eyes into a glare. 

"Aww, only joking hon! You look fantastic, really," she giggled, noting Ilianna's wistful gaze at Sirius. "And I'm sure your 'not-so-secret' admirer's noticed too."

"You think I look fantastic?" he asked subtley, ignoring Ilianna completely. 

"Of course. I never lie. Well, almost never. Hmm... actually, I think I lie quite a lot." she said, looking thoughtful. 

"Oh really! Then maybe you'd like to wake up 'lying' next to me tomorrow morning?" he said smoothly, a wicked glint in his eye. 

"Sirius you pervert!" Tiff slapped his arm. "Honestly, is that all you think about?" 

"Hmm, pretty much. Although there are many different areas; lesbians, bondage, span...." he grinned excitedly. 

"Ok STOP! I get the picture, and might I add 'gross'!" she said grimacing. 

"Oh you 'get the picture' do you? A big mental picture? NO, an enormous mental picture?" he raised his eyebrow suggestively. 

"That's it! I'm not talking to you. You can twist anything!" she turned her attention to her schoolwork. Sirius leant over her shoulder and placed his hand lightly on her back. 

"I really can twist anything darling," he said seductively; his hand creeping around her waist. 

Tiff gritted her teeth and forced a smile, resisting the urge to slap him hard round the face. 

"Finally! An explanation of how you comfort yourself on these lonely nights," she smiled innocently, yet allowed his hand to linger on her waist for a long moment before removing it with the aide of her claws. 

Sirius, for once unable to think of a witty comeback, sat nursing his scratched hand for the rest for the lesson, occasionally mock-glaring at Tiff and muttering, "Beast." The lesson ended with Sirius making illegible, copious notes from Tiff on the rest of the illegal curses. 

Sirius handed his half finished work in and bolted for the door before Professor Mondoc could call him back. 

"Professor? Could I have a word with you?" asked Ilianna timidly; her cute smile collaborating with her sparkly baby-blue eyes. "I didn't quite understand a few aspects of the Icendio Curse," she smiled innocently. 

"Of course Ilianna, I'm glad you asked," replied Mondoc, flashing her a dazzling grin in return. 

Lily, who was the last to hand in her work, turned for the door with the ultimate look of revulsion set on her face. James immediately put an arm around Lily and kissed her forehead. 

"So you're coming to the dance with me right?" he asked, hoping that he didn't sound too possessive. Lily frowned at him. 

"No James I'm going with Sirius," she said sarcastically. 

"Woopeedoo!" exclaimed Si. 

"Of course I'm going with you.... imbecile. How could you think otherwise?" she said incredulously. 

"Just checking, that's all," James said effortlessly, although he was secretly pleased that she had already decided beforehand that she would be going with him. 

"So, who're you going to the dance with Tiff?" asked Peter, his beady eyes sparkling hopefully at the concept that she might take pity and ask him. 

"Oh, no-one yet. I've turned down a couple of people, losers really, but nobody I like's asked me," she didn't even have to glance in Si's direction before she felt an arm drape lazily over her shoulders, pulling her into him. 

"I know the perfect person for you to go with Tiff," he said sincerely, although his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. 

"Really? Then I'm guessing that you can't be referring to yourself," she said with added sarcasm. Sirius traded a glance with James then smirked. 

"You guessed correctly," he said, the tiniest trace of a smile played on the edge of his lips. Tiff gave him a long look, then blinked twice. 

"So... who?" she asked, not quite able to hide her interest, however faint it may have been. 

Sirius grinned in a very evil, almost scary, way. 

"Oh, you'll find out. At breakfast one day this week. So I'd watch my back if I were you." he smiled widely. 

"Are you threatening me?" said Tiff, shrugging his arm off and narrowing her eyes. 

"Not at all babe, just trying to shit you up a bit." he winked, then strode off towards the Great Hall for lunch. Tiff gave Lily a confused look. 

"Why is Sirius such an arse?" she asked. 

"I dunno, why are you two always fighting?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. 

"We're not always fighting, we hardly ever fight actually," retorted Tiff with dignity. 

"Yeah but you're always trying to out-do each other. Some people would notice that as a sign of mutual attraction," said Lily, unable to retain her smile. Tiff went slightly pink, but looked furious. 

"Hey, I said some people not us people," said Lily, backing up into James as she eyed Tiff's nails with caution. 

"She's right Tiff, there is a certain spark between you two," said James with a cheeky grin. Tiff exploded. 

"Under no circumstances are Sirius and I EVER going to date, snog, shag, whatever. You hear me NEVER!!!" she said loudly, drawing the attention of a certain blonde Ravenclaw (Ilianna), who having just emerged from the classroom, grinned widely. 'Ooops,' thought Tiff, smiling inwardly. "Now go to lunch, and I'll join you shortly when I've cooled off," she snapped. 

"Ok, see you later Tiff," said Lily with a secretive smile. She linked arms with James and walked down the corridor, with Peter trailing behind. 

"That means she likes him," she whispered into James' ear. 

"Tiffany, Hi." Ilianna smiled at Tiff in what some would call a friendly way. 

"Hello Ilianna," she said icily. 

"I hope you don't think me rude, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. So... does this mean that Sirius's single?" she asked excitedly. Suddenly Tiff had a brainwave. If he was going to set her up, then why shouldn't she set him up. 

"Yes he is single. But we're still friends, and he's been talking about you quite a lot," said Tiff with a crocodile smile. 

"Really?" Ilianna squealed, not unlike a farmyard animal with snout and a curly tail. "I just knew it! What did he say?" 

"He's been thinking about asking you to the Christmas Ball, but the only thing is... he's shy." 

"Sirius, shy?" Ilianna looked puzzled. 

"Yes, he's extremely sensitive. And he said that he's terribly afraid that you'd turn him down. (Ilianna gasped.) But... maybe..." said Tiff cunningly. 

"What...?" Ilianna was hanging on every word that she said. 

"Well... maybe if you asked him out, then that would take the pressure off him." 

"Yes! That's perfect! Oooh, goodie. I'll go and ask him now! Thankyou," Ilianna hugged Tiff, shrieking excitedly. 

"Wait, don't ask him yet. Because if it's in front of everyone else then he'll say no. He's really shy. Ask him quietly at breakfast, one morning this week. I think he has Quidditch practise on Wednesday with James, you could ask him then." suggested Tiff, 'helpfully'.

"Ok, I'll do it on Wednesday. Thanks again," Ilianna smiled gratefully. 

"It's ok, just don't tell Sirius about this conversation. Just act as though it was your idea, ok?" 

"Ok," Ilianna walked off with a spring in her step. Tiff laughed silently to herself, snickering all the way to the Great Hall. 

a/n Thanks for reading (if you actually got this far!) ;) Next chapter we'll find out: who exactly Alexandria is, what happens on Wednesday morning, The Christmas Ball and more about Tiff's mysterious past. Please review. 


	6. A Whiter Shade of Pale

a/n I'm soooooooooo sorry I've taken so long to get this posted. I've been writing it in rough and then typing it up. Plus, I've been *really* busy, revising for ^evil^ mock exams!!! If you'd like me to add you to my mailing list the just leave your e-mail address in your review (that is supposing you do review!) I love getting feedback, and any suggestions, hints, criticism is more than welcome! 

P.S. The story is going to get darker and (hopefully) will go into more depth about Tiff's past.

Disclaimers to J.K.Rowling and Coupling. 

Chapter Six - A Whiter Shade of Pale

As Wednesday drew ever closer, both Tiff and Sirius were increasingly on edge. It hadn't taken Sirius five minutes to guess that she was up to something, and judging from the smirk on her face it wasn't likely to be something pleasant. 

"What're you planning?" he'd asked her on Monday morning, when she'd had trouble keeping Amber from falling off her chair hysterical with laughter. 

"Nothing, why? What makes you think that, dear?" Tiff had answered, bearing a smile that was a little too innocent. Sirius narrowed his eyes, regarding her suspiciously; he glanced quickly at Amber, who was still giggling mirthfully. 

"Well the fact that every time Amber looks at me she bursts into huge fits of laughter might make me suspect that something is amiss," he said coolly; Amber snorted, then buried her head in her arms in an attempt to control her laughter. Sirius raised his eyebrows as if to say, 'see, I was right.' 

"That proves nothing. See you on Wednesday," Tiff walked away smirking, dragging Amber along by the arm. 

Around dusk on Tuesday, Tiff and Amber told Lily and James the plan for tomorrow. Lily had laughed loudly; James smiled widely, evidently now knowing both Sirius and Tiff's schemes and what their outcome would be. 

The atmosphere in the common room was tense: Tiff and Sirius were sitting opposite each other shooting daggers; Peter and Remus were playing chess; Lily and James sat together in an armchair, cuddling each other lovingly; and Amber was trying to engage Tiff in conversation. 

"Amber. Did you go and see Remus when he was in the hospital wing?" Tiff asked her quietly. Amber shook her head sadly. 

"No, Pomfrey chucked me out just as I was about to walk in the door," she replied. 

"So... you haven't spoken to him at all?" said Tiff incredulously. "But why not? What's stopping you? Obviously you still like him or you wouldn't be so bothered..."

"Shut up," Amber snapped loudly, drawing a few stares. "I don't know ok, I just... can't," she said more quietly, sighing with frustration. "Maybe it's because I know I'll hate whatever it is, or I won't be able to deal with it."

Tiff frowned at her, then rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Amber, you talk crap," she snickered. "You make it sound like he's a Death Eater with a part time career as an amateur porn star. Honestly, it's not that bad." Amber laughed in reply then stopped abruptly; she regarded Tiff with fierce brown eyes. 

"You know." she said rhetorically, her tone cold. 

"Yes I know, but it's up to Remus to tell you." Tiff retorted, immediately regretting saying this as it would only infuriate Amber more.

"So I'm the only person who doesn't know. Well fine, I don't really care anymore," she said emotionally, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Amber retreated to her dormitory without a backward glance, where she collapsed on her bed and sobbed. Why did she lose everything? Her uncle (to Voldemort), her boyfriend, her friends? To Amber, it seemed that no-one trusted her with their secrets... not even the man she loved...

She didn't hear the door creak softly open, or the careful footsteps which shuffled across the floor towards her. The person sat next to her on the bed and gently stroked her cheek. 

"Leave me alone," Amber said defiantly. 

"No. I owe you an explanation," said Remus softly. Amber sniffed before wiping her eyes on her cover and sitting next to him. 

"I don't care. I don't even want to know anymore, it can't be that important can it?" Her voice raised bitterly. 

"Amber, I want to tell you." Remus argued, standing up. 

"Well go and tell it to the wall because I'm not interested. We're not a couple anymore so you don't owe me anything, especially not out of pity." Amber shrieked. In one swift movement, Remus grabbed Amber's wrists in one hand and covered her mouth in the other. She struggled violently. 

"Now, listen because I'm only going to say this once." He took his hand away from her mouth. "Amber. I'm a werewolf." Amber held her breath for several long seconds before replying. 

"You're a what?" she shrieked, wrenching her arms out of his grasp. 

"I knew you'd react like this, that's why I didn't tell you before." he snapped back. 

"How did it happen?" she said icily. Her eyes avoided meeting his gaze. 

"I got bitten when I was six," he said softly. Amber fumed silently for a few seconds, then...

"How on earth could you keep that from me? I'm supposed to be your girlfriend for gods sake!" she erupted.

"Excuse me, but you 'were' my girlfriend. You're the one who ended it if I recall."

"Well I'm the one with the power in our relationship and I say that I AM your girlfriend. I can't believe you! What if we got married and then suddenly I had a litter of puppies, what would you have told me then?" she shrieked, unaware that the Marauders, plus Tiff and Lily were at the door hanging on every word. 

"I would've told you before it got that far, and technically it's 'cubs' not puppies." he replied, grinning slightly. Amber gave a small smile. 

"You're so stupid. Do I really seem that shallow?" she asked, her large brown eyes full of hurt. 

"No. Of course not. I just have a hard time trusting people, because of what I am..." he said softly, eyes lowered to the floor. Amber touched his arm sympathetically. 

"You aren't a 'what' Remus, you're a 'who'. Being a werewolf doesn't make you less of a person. I mean, look at Malfoy and Snape. They actually dare to call themselves people yet they're totally evil and you're.... you're lovely. A lot nicer than you should be considering the way some people treat your kind." Amber smiled at him as her fingers intertwined with his. "Anyway, you didn't have any trouble trusting Tiff and Lily," she said with a mock glare. 

"That's because they guessed. I didn't really have a choice." He sighed heavily. Amber put her arms around Remus and held him close. 

""I'm sorry for being a bitch," she said after a few moments. Remus cupped her face gently then planted a soft kiss on her lips. 

"Me too," he whispered, before kissing her again. 

Outside the door, Lily strained her ears to catch the slightest sound. Nothing... which meant... She caught Tiff's eye and flashed her a huge grin which Tiff returned excitedly. 

"Yess..." she heard Tiff hiss triumphantly. 

* * * 

Wednesday morning arrived with blue sky and strong, fresh winds. Sirius got up early, around six (which he considered almost night!), to accompany James to Quidditch practise as usual. James was a seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was constantly trying to get one over on Snape, who was also a seeker, yet an abysmally poor one, having fallen off his broom more times than he'd caught the snitch. Sirius did the commentary, and often made a spectacle of Snape and his underpants which still got everyone giggling. 

The Great Hall was almost empty, with only a handful of students and the Gryffindor team eating breakfast. James greeted his team-mates with a yawn and a grunt. 

"When's the next match?" asked Sirius sleepily. James blinked in reply, whilst trying to flatten his outrageously messy hair. 

"Saturday. Against Slytherin. Maybe I'll try and knock Snape off his broom again, it almost worked last time."

"Yeah, and maybe this time you won't crash into a tree just because a certain 'Tiger' bats her pretty little eyes at you." Sirius grinned sneakily. James frowned worriedly.

"How did you know that I call Lily, Tiger? I've never told anyone that," he said suspiciously, blanching slightly at Sirius' fiendish smirk. 

"Aha, you'll never know my 'saucy little stag'!" Sirius quoted cackling evilly. James turned crimson. 

"You..." he exclaimed angrily. 

""Lets just say I'm a light sleeper, and hear thing that go bump in the night." Sirius winked, backing away slightly with apprehension as James glowered like a raging bull. 

"I'm just going to fetch the bacon..." Sirius scarpered to the other end of the table. 

James was then joined by Tiff, who looked exceptionally cute with her hair in two long bunches that fell over her shoulders with a wispy fringe which perfectly framed her face. 

"Hi James," she said cheerily, a 'cheshire cat' smile plastered across her face. 

"'Lo Tiff," replied James, his face returning to it's normal colour. He glanced along the table at Sirius, who had been snared by Ilianna and was desperately looking for a way to escape. James grinned at Tiff.

"You do realise that he's going to kill you in precisely three minutes."

"How could he possible blame me?" she said, batting her large violet eyes innocently. James snorted, _She's__ in for a shock, he thought with a snicker. _

As Tiff reached for a piece of toast, a large tawny owl came soaring through the window and landed on her plate. She untied the letter from it's leg and fed it a piece of crust. 

"Hello Caesar," she greeted the family owl who nipped her in a friendly way. "Hmm, finally a letter from home..." she muttered to herself as the owl ignorantly took flight. Tiff unfolded the letter, turning slightly away from James so he couldn't read it. 

_Dearest Tiffany,_

_Sorry we haven't written for so long but your father and I have been extremely busy at the Ministry with the recent Death Eater attacks on Hogsmeade, ("I didn't know there was an attack on Hogsmeade!" she exclaimed.) __Diagon__ Alley and Little Farthing.__ I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we had to sell Trojan... Tiff felt tears springing to her eyes. Trojan was her pony, whom she loved more than anything in the world. "Sold..." she whispered to herself, desperately fighting the tears. _

_We're so sorry Tiffany, but we just haven't got the time to look after him properly. We found him a good home, please don't get too upset... Another thing is that your father and I feel that it would be safer for you to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. We miss you lots and even __Alexandria__ keeps asking when you're coming home. Bless her, she's far too young to understand what's happening. We feel that you should know we're sending her to a boarding school, it's called the Academy for Young Witches and is in Toton, for her own safety. Our house is constantly under surveillance by both the Death Eaters and the Ministry. Harold Potter - your friend James' father- is the head of a protection scheme of Hit Wizards for us. Your father refused your uncle Zak's invitation to join the ranks of Voldemort. We may have to go into hiding soon if things carry on the way they're going... _

_We love you Tiffany, we're so sorry for selling Trojan, but it was the best thing for him. Hope you are well, if you ever need us don't hesitate to write._

_Please don't worry._

_Love_

_Mum, Dad & Alexia_

_X X X_

Tiff's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth twitched into an unmistakable look of immense hatred as she read the word _Zak. Tiff sighed heavily. She'd known things were bad at home, but she'd never thought that they were this bad. Her parents worked for the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. Their work was crucial to the fight against Voldemort. Tiff didn't know exactly what they did, but she knew that it caused a lot of strain on the family, more than her parents knew. She breathed deeply, willing herself not to burst into tears over Trojan. _

"Are you ok Tiff?" James' voice brought her back to reality. 

"Yes I'm fine. Nothing to worry about really..." she lied, giving a fake smile that definitely didn't reach her eyes. 

"The Brat's going to boarding school," she smirked in reference to her six year old sister who looked as innocent as an angel, but was really the cheekiest child ever known to mankind. 

"You mean little Alexia? The one who wants to marry Sirius when she's sixteen?" said James, accepting Tiff's quick change of subject. 

"Yep, and the same one that; sent pages of my diary to Teen Witch Weekly, plagued me with levitating china dolls (Tiff shuddered), and terrorised the neighbours' cat so much that it ran away five months ago and hasn't been seen since. Yeah, that's our little 'Lexie! She brings a whole new meaning to the word 'evil,' don't'cha think?" She grinned, pushing the contents of the letter to the back of her mind. 

"Ahh, I think she's cute. Anyway, she likes me," said James smugly. 

"Only because you told her that she was the prettiest little girl that you'd ever met! Honestly James, you could get locked up for that!" She said jokingly, yet her eyes grew dark for a reason currently unknown to anyone but herself. 

James snorted, "I..." he started, when another letter dropped onto Tiff's plate. She looked up to see a school screech owl land on the table. It waited patiently for her to read and reply. 

Tiff looked at it strangely, then placed her parents letter in her jeans pocket. She unfolded the new letter carefully, unaware of James who was watching her with interest. 

James glanced over at Sirius. He was laughing forcefully with Ilianna. James noted the glare he shot at the back of Tiff's head, which soon turned into a smirk as he saw what she was reading. Sirius whispered something to Ilianna then walked slowly back to the Griffindor table whilst Ilianna skipped away, shrieking excitedly. 

James waved at Lily who entered the Hall chatting animatedly with Amber and Remus, Peter tagging along behind. The four sat away from Tiff, leaving her secluded to read her letter. James joined Lily, greeting her with a look of pure adoration. Lily squeezed his hand gently, both of them felt that there was no need for words. 

Tiff read the letter meticulously, taking care to keep her face expressionless, except for the odd raised eyebrow or quirky smile. The letter was of standard school parchment, and was written in green ink by an italic hand. It read:

_Dear Tiffany,_

_I am unsure as to whether the letter which I received several days ago, supposedly sent by you, was a joke by Potter and Black. If this is the case then I am very sorry for troubling you, however, if the letter was indeed genuine then I apologise most sincerely for doubting you. Whatever the case may be, I have taken your offer with total seriousness. It would give me great pleasure to accompany you to the Christmas Ball. Please send a reply promptly, whatever your answer may be. _

_Sincerely_

_Severus__ Snape_

Tiff looked up feeling eyes on her. She smiled serenely, then took a quill out of her bag and scrawled a reply on the reverse side of the letter. 

They all watched in silence as the owl flew over to the Slytherin table, dropped the letter on Snape's greasy head, then exited via the open window. There was a tense moment, in which Lily shot Tiff an incredulous, half disapproving half amused look. 

"What did you say?" she asked tentatively. Tiff smiled, a little too sweetly, in a way that was almost scary. 

"Thanks for warning me Lily, you too James. It really gives me great pleasure to call you my friends." She said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. 

Sirius sat down opposite her, both of them glared furiously. Lily and James stared guiltily at their plates whilst Remus and Amber just looked puzzled. 

"You just had to choose her didn't you," Sirius hissed venomously, which was very unusual for him. 

"And you just had to choose him, Sirius. At least_ your date has decent hair," she said, equally as cold. Sirius just glared then:_

"So, what did he write?" he asked curiously. 

"Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that, he asked me to the ball, nothing big," she said airily. 

"What?!" Exclaimed Remus, Amber and Peter. Sirius just smirked. 

"And what was your answer?"

"What was your answer for Ilianna?"

"Well I couldn't exactly get out of it, could I?" he said with a hint of bitterness. "And you said...?" he persisted. 

"I said that I'd be delighted to go with him as he put it so nicely." Sirius snickered, yet his eyes narrowed slightly as though his plan wasn't actually intended to be a success. 

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the library to carve 'Tiff 4 Sev" into the back desk," she raised her eyebrows and then left the Hall, stopping to say hello to Arabella before proceeding to the library. Lily, James, Remus, Amber and Sirius sat in silence, not knowing what to say. Only Peter, who had no idea that the whole thing had been set up said;

"Well that was unexpected wasn't it?"

* * * 

As November swiftly drew to a close, Sirius and Tiff continued to gloat, each confident that they had the better deal and determined to completely humiliate the other at the Christmas Ball. Lily and Amber talked non-stop about their dresses for the ball and whether they should match their shoes with their nails or shoes with their handbag. 

Remus followed Amber around like a lost sheep as she fussed him and spoilt him; James seemed slightly withdrawn and had been sending and receiving many letters from home. Peter, having finally realised that he was the only Marauder without a date, had somehow managed to convince Arabella Figg to go with him. This had amazed everyone as Arabella was both very pretty and very intelligent. She was also two years his senior. Tiffany quietly chuckled to herself as she thought of how ridiculous tubby little Peter would look dancing with tall, long-legged Arabella. 

Tiff had taken to smiling sweetly and chatting to Snape in classes as well as in the corridors. This had only made Sirius retaliate by turning Ilianna into a mindless giggling idiot by flashing her one of his famous 'weak at the knees' grins. 

However, unbeknown to Tiff, Zane Zabini had been meticulously watching her every move. His father Zachariah, Voldemort's right hand man had requested that his son keep a close watch on her. And that he report anything irregular. Whereas Zane didn't want to give away any information which might land her in trouble with Voldemort, the reasons for which remained unknown, he couldn't turn against his family and the Dark Lord. He knew that his father had a significant interest in Tiff's whereabouts, he had always favoured her, and Zane knew better than to go against his father's wishes...

One day in early December, the castle awoke to find the grounds covered with a fresh, crisp frost. It looked as though someone had sprinkled icing sugar over the entire grounds. Luckily this was a Hogsmeade weekend, in which Lily, Amber and Tiff planned to buy their dresses. The security on the trip was very tight. Teachers accompanied them almost everywhere which dampened everyone's mood. Everyone that was except Ilianna, who flirted and generally acted her dizzy self around the dashing Mondoc, who seemed to genuinely enjoy her company. The three girls finally managed to shake off Madam Hooch, who was magnetically drawn towards, 'Quidditch Supplies for the Queer and Quaint,' whilst they darted into 'Robes for all Occasions'. 

Lily and Amber both bought beautiful gowns for an absurd amount of money (they some borrowed from Tiff). Tiff didn't buy a dress, as she felt that none of them really suited her. The boys spent ages in Jonko's, stocking up on dungbombs, and other various joke items. The product which really caught their eyes however, was new to the shop. 

"Magic Markers. Sixteen Sickles for a pack of ten. Bring your drawings to life, make your animations move, without the use of a wand..." bellowed the salesperson, in a very market trader-esque kind of way. Sirius bought three packs, feeling that they could come in handy for the future. 

* * *

As Christmas drew ever closer, there was a rush to book seats on the Hogwarts Express. Everyone wanted to be with their familes as the number of Death Eater attacks was rising swiftly. 

The rivalry between Tiff and Sirius became more intense than anyone could have imagined. The only time they actually spoke to one another was to trade a snide comment or have a blazing row, which became a regular occurrence in the Gryffindor Common Room. The most eventful fight stuck in everyone's mind for a long while after. 

It was a normal evening in the common room where it all started. Most students were either doing homework or relaxing after a stressful day of tiring lessons. No-one was quite sure what started the argument, but it swiftly grew more violent and the language stronger. 

"You're just a spoilt little princess who has to get her own way!" shouted Sirius, completely oblivious to the frightened stares of the little first years. 

"Ha! You can talk. You're the one who struts around like a constipated chicken, thinking he's God!" Tiff shrieked back. Lily and James' heads snapped back and forth as they watched them hurl verbal abuse at each other; it was like watching a very violent tennis match. 

"Says you, ya' filthy slut! Even the bloody Slytherins can't keep their hands off you! It wouldn't surprise me if you'd slept with half of them already. Including Malfoy and your cousin!" He screamed, not really caring what he was saying, but just wanting to hurt Tiff as much as possible at that moment. 

There was a brief silence in which everyone stared at Tiff, who had gone deathly pale. She walked towards Sirius, then...

SMACK!!! She slapped him round the face with all the strength she could muster. To say she was quite small, Tiff actually managed to knock the 6' Sirius back a few paces. 

"I am not a slut," she said in a deadly whisper, her eyes blazing with a ferocious violet fire. Sirius glared, his face a few shades paler than the purple-crimson of his cheek. 

"No, you're a whore," he replied coldly. Lily's hands flew to her mouth in shock as she gasped loudly. 

Tiff exploded. She kicked him in the groin and then scratched his face with her claw-like nails as he doubled over. 

"Bastard," she muttered maliciously, her eyes full of a darkness that made her face almost unrecognisable in its fury. She gripped Sirius's face hard, holding it inches from hers. There was an unfamiliar look in her eyes; of pain, fury and regret. She looked somewhat manic. 

"I've never been your slut, you sadistic, perverted old man. Never..." she whispered slowly and furiously, so that only he could hear. Then, without another word, she turned and stormed off to her room, turning on the stairs. 

"Just fuck off Black," she said fiercely with an icy glare, then left. 

Sirius sat, where he had collapsed on the floor. He'd been beaten up by a girl... and in front of people. He skulked off to his dorm, ignoring the disapproving stares and whispers. One thing stuck in his mind however. The last sentence Tiff had said, hadn't made any sense to him at all... It was almost as if she saw him as someone else.... 

The room remained silent for a couple of minute as the Gryffindors tried to digest what had just happened. Normal conversation resumed in the room, James and Lily just looked at one another. Neither of them knew what to say or do. 

"What... was that...?" said Lily incredulously, her green eyes wide and worried, she looked as though she could cry. 

"I don't know, Lils. I just don't know..." replied James, putting a comforting arm around her as she leaned into him. "They'll get over it... eventually. They always do." But James had a feeling that there was more to this than just arguments and rivalry. Some things could never be forgotten...

* * *

A couple of days later, Sirius and Tiff still hadn't ventured outside their dorms. Their friends bought them food and drink, but both were reluctant to converse with anyone. Sirius's face was half purple. He also had three surprisingly deep scratch marks in the centre of the bruise. Despite Remus and James's persuasion, he refused to go to Madam Pomfrey. 

Tiff was practically mute. She sat in silence, only speaking to Professor McGonagall who came to see how she was after Lily and Amber told her that Tiff was 'ill' and couldn't attend lessons. James and Peter said the same about Sirius. Lily noticed that Tiff always had red, puffy eyes, evidently showing that she'd been crying. 

Lily and James talked about 'the incident' in the common room. Sharing opinions of Tiff and Sirius, and trying to determine the reason for the outburst. 

"I'm sure we never fought like that... did we?" Lily looked doubtful as she cast her mind back to when she and James had been sworn enemies throughout the first and second year. 

"No...... we were never _that violent," he replied, smiling with slight amusement. "God we hated each other didn't we?" he grinned as Lily giggled at the memories. _

"Remember when Tiff and Sirius used to be best friends? They adored each other, and always left us to argue," Lily smiled. 

James gave a short laugh. 

"Yeah, and then we'd throw hexes at each other, ending up in the hospital wing with extra legs or green skin."

"Remember the time you tried to snog Tiff in third year, and she gave you a black eye then called you an impotent twat who was visited by the Melty Man every other night!" Lily chortled. 

James' face reddened. 

"She never told us what that meant, did she?" he said naively. Lily withheld a laugh. 

"I believe the phrase she used was 'he will come, but you wont'!" she said sedately, before collapsing into a fit of giggles. 

(a/n Don't get it? Think about it... think hard! ;)

"Ah, we did have some funny times," sighed James happily. 

"Yep, we sure did... Four Eyes!" she snickered at the old nickname. James gave a mock frown. 

""You think it's funny eh? Carrots?" He grinned as Lily punched his arm jokily. 

"You promised you'd never call me that again! And my hair is red!!! Not ginger!" She pounced on him, tickling madly. 

"Stop...!" he gasped, wheezing with laughter. "Stop... I surrender!" Lily stopped tickling him, and gazed into his eyes. She leant towards James, and kissed him softly. James pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as he deepened the kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, Lily pulled back and settled herself into James' arms. She sighed peacefully, pushing all thoughts of Tiff and Sirius to the back of her mind. 

"I love you Jamie," she said softly. 

"I love you too Lily," he replied, kissing her forehead lovingly. 

* * * 

_'Slut, slut, slut, slut...' The word echoed throughout Tiff's mind, bringing forth a fresh wave of pain with each recurrence. And she cried. Not loud, racking sobs. But just quiet tears, the kind which only appeared in moments of intense physical or emotional pain. Everyone had their demons, but hers were more terrifying and traumatic than anyone could begin to imagine. Tiffany's past was a dark one. Full of shadows, deceit, and a great misjudgement which she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life. The 'thing' that had gotten Tiffany so worked up was her secret. It was a shocking secret. Such so that no-one knew it; no-one could even come close to guessing it. _

_'Slut...' That word held so many memories. Sirius could never have imagined the pain it had caused Tiffany just to hear that word directed towards her again. It wasn't his fault... he could never have known..._

~ ~ ~

Sirius lay on is bed, brooding. The chorus of snores told them that James, Peter and Remus had finally fallen asleep, after spending days trying to stop him from sulking. 

He couldn't sleep. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes refused to stay closed for more than a second. 

_What's wrong with me? He thought. That was the problem. He couldn't stop thinking about the fight he'd had with Tiff. He touched his cheek tenderly, wincing slightly as his fingers and over three deep scratch marks, the result of Tiff's nails. _

_I said some terrible things... He felt very bruised, both inside and out. Sirius sat brooding about Tiff. This was a strange experience for him as he never brooded. In his opinion, only 'pretty boys' were allowed to brood and get away with it. And Sirius didn't consider himself 'pretty'. Even through all the jokes about his supposed sexiness, he'd never thought he was attractive. He knew of course, that some girls found in cute, in what he supposed was a roguish way. He had absolutely no idea of how many girls rated him the sexiest boy in the school. Sirius' thoughts were cut short by a noise from down-stairs. He decided to go for a midnight wander in an attempt to clear his head. _

He entered the common room, with the intention of making himself a cup of hot chocolate to help him sleep. What he ended up doing however, was a completely different matter. 

Sirius immediately recognised Tiff's platinum head, wrapped up in a blanket, curled up on the sofa in front if the fire. At first, he totally ignored her, and set about making a drink. However, when he heard a soft, snuffling sound which was unmistakeably a sob; he paused thoughtfully. A minute later, Sirius set down two steaming mugs on a side table. He sat next to Tiff who was dabbing at her eyes with the frayed edge of her blanket. 

"Come to have another go?" she tried to say coldly, but failed miserably, sniffling sadly. 

"No, I've come to apologise." He started, looking at the floor. "I'm really sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it. I'm... so sorry..." he said dejectedly, looking thoroughly ashamed. 

"Ha!" She gave a short scornful laugh. There was a moment of silence, then; "If you didn't mean it then why did you say it? I'm not a -" She said quietly, her eyes averted to the floor. 

Sirius tried to touch her hand, but she shrank backwards. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was saying. I know you're not a whore, or a slag.. I'm really, really sorry..." he pleaded, his voice on the edge of desperation. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Please forgive me" He looked at the floor as Tiff studied his face. 

"Why should I forgive you? I never thought anyone would ever be able to hurt me like that again. Guess I was wrong," she sighed. Sirius opened his mouth to question her, but Tiff cut him short. "And don't even bother asking because I won't tell you. Ever." She said conclusively. 

"Right. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you so badly." he muttered, looking at the floor again. 

"I think I hurt you more." She glanced at his purple cheek. "Anyway, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to get all... violent and ... grr-y." She said screwing her nose up, in her usual cute way. Sirius smiled slightly. 

"It's ok. I'll live, plus I'll have a very interesting scar!" He raised his eyebrows. 

"You could always get Madam Pomfrey to fix it," she suggested. 

"Maybe. So... shall we call it a truce, then?" He offered his and, and they shook in agreement. 

"Can you tell me why you were so upset?" he asked cautiously. Tiff pulled her hand back sharply, shaking her head. 

"No. I've already said I won't." she replied bluntly, making it clear that she didn't want to talk about it. 

"Please... you can trust me," he said, giving her a puppy dog look, pouting sorrowfully. 

You could almost see the emotion leaking out of Tiff's eyes, like the tears, which she desperately tried to stop from falling. 

Sirius instinctively reached out for he, but she pushed his arm away. 

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, as she wiped her eyes with shaky hands. 

"Not really... God, I bet you think I'm an idiot." She said in between soft sobs. 

"Of course not," he said kindly, moving closer to her, desperately wanting to comfort Tiff. He carefully put his arm around her and to his relief she didn't object. In fact, she leaned into him as he held her tighter. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her tentatively, feeling her tense up immediately. 

"No," she whispered, shaking her head as she sobbed into his pyjama shirt. Sirius wrapped his arms around Tiff, gently rocking her and stroking her hair. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. 

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked softly. She'd calmed down a lot, but still clung to him. She gave a soft laugh. 

"Sweetheart, eh?" She smiled, snuggling deeper into his arms. 

"Tiffany?" he said quietly. 

"Hmm?" she looked up at him, her eyes a startling shade of violet. 

"What upset you so much? I've never seen you that worked up before..." He felt her tense up again, she pulled herself out of his arms and sat at the opposite end of the sofa. She looked into the dancing golden flames in the hearth. 

"I can't tell you. I wish I could, but... no..."

His eyes narrowed with concern. He'd never really thought of Tiff as a secretive person. She was normally very open minded, and always said what she was thinking, either by accident or on purpose. He hated to see her like this, secretive and withdrawn, something was obviously hurting her deep inside. But what......?

"Please. I want to help you." 

"No. Just leave it Sirius. And don't mention this to anyone else... I'm going to bed," she said, getting up. 

"Tiff, wait," Sirius caught her arm, and as she turned round he hugged her. "I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to," he said, cupping her face gently and staring into her violet eyes. Tiff smiled slightly. 

"Ok," she whispered, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for being such a good friend." She gave his hand a squeeze before walking away, slowly. At the foot of the stairs, she turned.

"Oh, and Sirius? If you ever feel the need to refer to me as a prostitute or some other variation with the same meaning, please use the 'kid-friendly' term, 'Lady of the Night'!" she winked then exited the room. 

He watched the stone steps grow dim as the light of her candle melted away into the darkness. Sirius knew that Tiff wasn't telling him the truth, but why? Didn't she think he was trustworthy? After the way he'd behaved towards her, he didn't blame her for not wanting to tell him anything. He sighed heavily, wishing that he could tell her how sorry he really was and just how deeply he cared for her. 

"Oh well, it's never going to happen anyway," he muttered to himself, on his way back to bed. 

The two cups of chocolate remained untouched until morning. 

a/n So... in the next chapter, we find out:

more about Tiff's *dark* past

what happens at the Christmas Ball

why James has been writing *secret letters*

and............ lots more!!!  


	7. A Christmas Wish

a/n – Firstly, let me express my sincerest apologies for the delay in my posting of this chapter.  I know that I said I would try and have it posted in time for Christmas, but…. I lied!  Sorry!  I have been busy, and have neglected writing very much for no particular reason at all really.  I *promise* that I'll have the next chapter up sometime…  sometime…. soon, and I promise that it will be funnier, and better than this fluffy crap one!  

Disclaimer:  Mostly J.K's, Tiff and her family, Ilianna and Amber are mine, everything else is most noticeably not.  Oh, and I've 'borrowed' a couple of lines from the LOTR movie, and a few ideas – please don't haunt me Tolkien!  Hmmm… Legolas…*squeals*

Mucho thanks to my super-duper amazingly beautiful and talented beta-reader Louise!  *applause*  Without her, this fic would've died two chapters ago!  

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

**Destiny**

Chapter Seven – A Christmas Wish

December flew by and before the students knew it, there was only a week to go until they broke up for Christmas.  Tiff publicly made up with Sirius and they reverted to their normal jokey relationship.  Tiffany; who along with James was the only Gryffindor staying at Hogwarts over the holidays, received a mysterious package from home, the contents of which she kept secret.  

  Sirius and Tiff traded mild insults with one another; Sirius had dreamed up a new phrase to annoy Tiff with – "Where's Tiffany?  Oh yes." He would then look at his shoe in amazement.  "I seem to have trodden on her!"  He stayed well away from the term 'slut', as he still didn't know why this upset her.  Four hours before the ball, Tiff, Amber and Lily went to get ready much to the amazement of the boys who were incredulous at the amount of time they needed.  

  Both Sirius and Tiff had arranged to meet their 'dates' at the ball.  The Great Hall had been decorated with huge crystal ice sculptures of unicorns, and much to James' amusement – a stag, well reindeer.  Tiny Professor Flitwick could be seen casting charms to prevent the ice from melting; Hagrid was dragging in several six foot pine trees, leaving a trail of snow-dust behind him; Professor Sprout was surreptitiously enchanting sprigs of mistletoe, so that they hovered twelve feet high.  

*  *  *

"What's taking them so long?  They've been up there for three hours!  Honestly, anyone would think them to be participating in a drunken lesbian orgy rather than be prettying themselves up for a stupid dance!"  Sirius exclaimed, having grown unimaginably bored of waiting for the girls an hour ago.  James paced around the common room, nervously running his fingers through his hair.  

  Remus and Peter chose not to answer this, and sank back into a silent stupor.  

"You could go, Sirius.  Ilianna will be waiting for you."  Remus glanced towards a scowling Sirius who lay sprawled lazily across the sofa, undoubtedly creasing his new navy dress robes.    

"No power on this earth could make me walk into that ballroom alone.  Plus I want to see the look on Tiff – and Snape's face."  He grinned, yet his eyes were dark and humourless.  James smiled weakly, missing the false humour. 

"Yeah…heh…"  James said, trailing off as he stared at the foot of the stairs in awe.  

"Sorry I'm late, James."  Lily looked unbelievable.  She was one of those people who looked beautiful without even trying, but with a little make-up and glitter she looked ethereal.  Her hair was pulled backwards into a bun, with a few loose red ringlets falling freely.  Her dress was simple and white, yet gave her air of grace and elegance.  

James could find not other word, but "Wow."

"Do I look okay?"  Lily asked, feeling slightly insecure because of all the stares.  James opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find words.  Sirius tactfully intervened.  

"You look fantastic, darling.  I think you've stunned Jamesie boy into silence."  Lily blushed.  

"Thanks Sirius, Tiff and Amber did my hair, that's why we're running late.  Sorry…"

"Don't apologise you silly coot, you look amazing.  Doesn't she James?"  said Sirius, poking James in the shoulder.  

"Absolutely."  James grinned at Lily, feeling like he'd won the Million Galleon Lottery.  Lily shook her head, muttering something which sounded like "boys…"  She put her arm round James lovingly.  

  Moments later, Amber almost fell down the stairs, wearing killer spiked heels and a slinky bronze gown which complimented her tawny hair perfectly.  

"Tiff'll be about five minutes Sirius, she's just painting her toenails."  said Amber.  

"That's ok, I'll wait for her.  You lot go on ahead."  

"Are you sure?"  Asked James.  

"Yeah, go,"  Sirius replied, wanting to catch Tiff on her own before the night started.  

"Um… ok then, we'll see you later.  And don't worry, we'll cover for you with Ilianna."  James winked.  Sirius narrowed his eyes evilly. 

"What, like I** covered for you with Lily when you were too busy checking her out to actually say something?"  he replied, one eyebrow raised craftily.  **

"Sirius?"

"James?"

"Shut up."  Sirius smirked at James' glare, then nodded formally.  

"Yessir, right away sir!"  He saluted James, who shook his head in amusement.  

  As the others left, Sirius went up to the girls' dorm.  He paused just as he was about to enter.  He remembered what had happened last time he walked into her room unannounced – he had caught her in a towel!  Hmmm…  and he wouldn't that to happen again…  Sirius grinned, then walked straight in.  

"Bugger!  Stupid bloody dress…"  Tiff cursed as she surveyed herself thoroughly in the mirror.  She was just in the process of untucking her dress from her knickers when she caught sight of Sirius in the mirror.  

"Need a hand?"  he said smoothly, one eyebrow raised wickedly.  

"That the f- oof…"  Tiff cursed as she promptly tripped over her own feet as she tried to turn around, resulting with her landing on her backside.  She looked up at him and laughed, embarrassed.  

"Please,"  she replied, as he pulled her to her feet.  

"You look lovely, and so tall,"  he complimented her. 

"Thanks, you too,"  she grinned, tilting her feet to show her very high red stilettos which brought her up to eye-lip level with Sirius instead of the usual eye-chest.  

"Ready?"  he asked her.  

"Yep,"  she replied with a grin.  

She wore a sparkly red dress that fell just below her knees.  Teamed with the red sandals and nail polish she looked amazing.  Her hair was wavy and tousled as opposed to its normal poker straightness.  Sirius could definitely say that Tiffany looked very sexy.  This worried him, as he wasn't her date and therefore wouldn't be able to defend her against other predatory males.  

"Nice dress,"  he commented whilst raising an eyebrow.  

"Thanks, my mother sent it from home,"  she smiled, glad that he had noticed.

Tiff frowned bemusedly as she caught Sirius staring at her.  "What?" 

"Nothing…  you just look really beautiful.  I feel like I don't even know you."  He aid, unable to tear his eyes away from her.  

"Aww, you can be so sweet sometimes y'know," she replied, blushing. Tiff wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly.  "You do know that you're one of my best friends don't you?"  she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know Tiff," he replied, holding her in his strong arms.  "Just promise me one thing,"  he said in a serious tone.  "Save me a dance."  He looked at her pleadingly.  

Tiff smiled.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."  Sirius cupped her face gently and gazed into her deep violet eyes.  He planted a soft, tender kiss on her forehead, and for a split second they felt an overwhelming sense of unity – like they could be together forever, without anyone standing in their way.  Yet almost as suddenly as it had come, the connection was gone, and Sirius pulled away.  Tiffany opened her eyes and smiled at him.  

"Come on, lets get this over with,"  Sirius grimaced, wishing beyond all reason that he didn't have to go with Ilianna.  

"Mmmnnmeh,"  Tiff grunted, walking reluctantly towards the door.  

Sirius linked arms with her, then extended his free hand extravagantly with a flourish.  "You shall go to the ball, Cinderella."  

Tiff grinned, shaking her head.  "Thunderbirds Away!"  She smirked as Sirius' face grew puzzled.  "It's a muggle thing,"  she shrugged.  

"Right…  Away!"  They walked through the deserted common room,  Sirius paused at the portrait.  

"Oh, before  I forget."  He said, in the style of one who had misplaced his socks.  "Darling Tiffany,"  he flashed her a smile that weakened her knees, and leaned in to whisper into her ear.  "Your skirt is still tucked into your knickers."  She gave him a long look, then sniggered embarrassedly and un-tucked it.  

"Thanks, now, on with the ball…"

*  *  *

Sirius sighed heavily, casting his eyes around the Great Hall.  It had undergone a magnificent transformation to emerge as an elegant ballroom.  Students were dancing, eating, talking, and somewhere in a corner there were Slytherins drinking mead.  _Stupid idiots…  as if they thought Dumbledore wouldn't notice.  _

Sirius had never been more bored in his life.  Not even Divination was as torturous as standing around casually, whilst Ilianna Harman bragged about you to her friends.  Oh well, it wasn't _that bad, Sirius smirked wickedly to himself.  Ilianna was wearing a very low cut dress, but still, was it worth looking like an idiot simply for a glimpse of flesh?  Well, 'glimpse' would be lying, an 'eyeful' would be more correct.  _

  He stole a glance towards Tiff, who was attracting a lot of attention wearing the red dress.  Even Lucius Malfoy, who had a beautiful Slytherin girl on his arm, snuck a glance towards Tiff.  However, Snape stuck to her like glue, and tactfully kept away other predatory males with icy glares.  Sirius was almost grateful for Snape – except of course when he dared to touch Tiff, then Sirius just hated him again.  

Tiff seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing and joking with Snape and Zane.  Hmmm…  was that a smile he saw on Snape's face?  Mind you, Tiffany could make anyone smile.  All she had to do was scrunch up her nose in that cutesy-grinny way - that was guaranteed to raise a smile even amongst the coldest scrooges.  

  He seriously regretted setting her up with Snape.  What had started off as a highly amusing joke had ended up as his worst nightmare.  He wished that he was the one laughing and joking with Tiff.  He wished he was the one she was smiling at… the one whose eyes she would gaze into when dancing gracefully… the one…

  Sirius mentally shook himself.  He couldn't think like that about her.  Not now, when Ilianna was standing feet away, winking at him every few minutes.  As he raised his eyes, Ilianna took the opportunity to snatch his arm and drag him onto the dancefloor as the band struck up a slow song.  The band, 'Jinx 182' were currently unsigned, but they were very good, almost too good to be playing at Hogwarts.  Sirius felt nauseous as they struck up a slower song.  The song was actually quite good, yet he couldn't quite appreciate the magic of the lyrics when Ilianna was clung onto him like a limpet.  

  Across the dance floor he could see James and Remus laughing loudly at him.  Sirius glared at his friends. At least Lily had the decency to attempt to stifle her laugher, whilst the other two idiots pointed openly and let rip.  

_So this is the lowest point of my life, he thought to himself sarcastically.  Yet a reminder of a shameful memory crept to the centre of his mind; the fight with Tiff.  That was bad, so low that it sank into the fiery depths of the underground and then some.  Sirius regretted ever going into the common room that evening…  however, there was something that Tiff had said to him that he couldn't forget and if he was honest, completely threw him.  _

'You sick, perverted old man.'  Sirius hoped that she hadn't meant the obvious, God he prayed that she hadn't…

While Sirius was worrying about her, Tiffany was also slightly concerned for the safely of herself…  

It wasn't pleasant, yet it wasn't quite repulsive, apart from the fact that he was Snape.  Tiff didn't feel at all comfortable dancing with him.  He was far too close for her liking…  and his hands… Urgh… the presence of them on her waist made her skin crawl.    

"You look particularly beautiful tonight,"  he whispered, his lips touched her earlobe softly.  Tiffany pulled back quickly.  She had to get out of the room.  

"Tiffany?  Are you alright?"  Snape asked, frowning worriedly.  

_No I think I'm going to be sick you disgusting creep.  _"Yes, I just need to get some air, that's all.  Please excuse me…"  She ran from the ballroom and out of the main doors, into a clump of rosebushes.  Tiff sat down on a bench, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.  

"You look like you need a drink,"  A smooth voice came from her left.  Tiff looked across to Zane who was seated beside her, an understanding smile on his handsome, chiselled face.  

"Please,"  she took the bottle he was offering without hesitation.  Tiff took several deep gulps of the intoxicating liquid; it burned the back of her throat like fire and ice combined.  She  drained the rest of it, grimacing at the foul aftertaste.  

"Ah, vodka,"  she grinned as the alcohol went straight to her head.  "That's better,"  she said merrily.  

"You looked like you were having fun dear cousin,"  Zane smirked.  

"Oh yes darling, because being touched up by Snape is often the highlight of my evening."

"That may be my dear, but I sense that you'd much rather be snuggling with a certain Mr. Black instead of with the three legged ape,"  he raised an eyebrow.  

"No…"  she said quickly, her face reddening out of embarrassment and intoxication.  "Oh, no… you warned me, months ago.  Bugger…"  Tiff exclaimed, remembering Zane's prediction.  He gave her a sympathetic look as if to say 'I told you so.'  

"You got anymore alcohol,"  Tiff asked him.  Zane looked slightly hesitant before removing a clear glass phial from his robe pocket.  Tiffany foolishly didn't ask any questions, but downed the contents in one gulp.  Her face immediately acquired a vacant expression.  

  Zane blinked guiltily.  He couldn't believe that he had done it.  He'd betrayed Tiffany, his closest confidante other than the Dark Lord.  He'd given her Veritaserum under Voldemort's orders.  

"Is your name Tiffany Miranda Zabini?"  He asked her to test the diluted potion was working.  

"Yes,"  she replied blankly.  He glanced around warily, they were totally alone.  

"Are you the witch child?"  he asked her, taking care to keep his voice low.  

"The what?"  Tiffany replied, confused yet still in a trance.

"The…"  Zane glanced around worriedly.  "A descendant of Zabrian blood will overthrow the Dark Lord, claiming his throne either as the Princess of Darkness or the Queen of Light.  Which path she follows will depend entirely upon her heart's desires."  He recited this from memory, running his fingers through his hair nervously.  "Are you the descendant?"  he said in barely a whisper.  

"No,"  she said, in a definite tone of voice.  

"Right.  Do you know who it is?  Is it… your sister?"  he asked, trying to ignore the nauseous feeling of guilt eating  away at his conscience as he pried deeper.

"I do not know,"  she said blankly.  

"Alright, hmm.."  He rubbed his temples thoughtfully, thinking of what else he could ask her.  

"Does your father intend to join with the Dark Lord?"

"No, he said he'd rather die a thousand deaths before he betrayed the Ministry."  

"Do the Ministry know of my father's actions as a Death Eater?"  

"Is your father still alive?"  Zane was unnerved by this question.  

"Yes."

"Then they know nothing."  

"Right."  He rested his head in his hands, sighing heavily.  "Ooh,"  he said, perking up slightly.  "One more thing, are you in love with Sirius Black?"  He asked, his dark eyes twinkling.  

"I…  I cannot help but love him, whether or not my mind agrees.  We were meant for each other,"  she said with difficulty.  Zane could tell that the effects of the truth potion were wearing off.  He swiftly removed another phial from his pocket, this one containing a blue liquid.  He put a few drops of the antidote in her mouth, then put an am around her, tilting her head to rest on his shoulder.  

Tiffany opened her eyes to find the world a spinning blur.  She blinked a few times, bringing her eyes into focus.  

"You ok, hon?"  She looked up slowly to look at Zane.  

"No…  I feel… sick…"  she wailed, clutching her throat.  Zane patted her on the back gently.  

"Now are you going to _be sick?  Because if you are, then I know a good bush which has a sort of hollow centre, and branches that you can rest your arms on."  He said helpfully.  Tiff sat up, swaying slightly on the bench.  _

"Don't 'fink so..."  she said, getting up and walking clumsily on her tall shoes.  "I'm goin' back to the party, 'twas lovely to talk to you m'dear,"  she hugged Zane as he stood up, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  

"Bye darling,"  she waved as she strolled merrily down the path and back into the Great Hall.  

Zane followed Tiff with his dark eyes, unable to rid himself of the guilt of betraying her.  Oh well, he thought.  He didn't exactly find anything out that would interest the Dark Lord.  He chuckled softly to himself.  _Because Voldemort revels in the knowledge of hormonal teenage love affairs, he grinned, shaking his attractive head in amusement.  _

How wrong could he have been…  

"How dare you speak to me like that?  Who do you think you are?  Interfering with Sirius and me!  Our night was going perfectly until you opened your big mouth!"  Ilianna Harman resembled a disgruntled kitten, yet sounded like a banshee in pain as she hurled abuse at Amber, who simply stood there looking bored.  

Sirius cringed as Remus, James and Peter fought to control their laughter.  The room was silent and the atmosphere tense.  The music had stopped playing when Ilianna first raised her voice after  Amber had provoked her into a rage.  Sirius wasn't sure what Amber had said, but he assumed it to be something involving Tiff, himself and most probably Ilianna by what the 'Big Blonde' herself was saying.  Everyone in the Hall was watching surreptitiously while pretending that they weren't listening.  

"Really, Ilianna?  Night was going perfectly was it?  My, my, aren't you a lucky boy Sirius, having this ravishing beauty all to yourself for the entire night?"  Amber exclaimed loudly, her voice loaded with sarcasm.  Ilianna seethed with anger.  

"Why, you nasty little cow!  Of course he's bloody lucky, many guys would kill for a chance to be seen in my company."  

"That may be, Ilianna, but I'm sure that many more guys would kill for a chance to get away from you and your self-centred, microscopically idiotic excuse for a braincell.  Mind you, you know what they say about blondes…"  Before Amber could finish her sentence Ilianna pounced on her, pulling her hair and shrieking loudly.  Amber responded by stamping hard on Ilianna's toe with her spiked heel, causing Ilianna to shriek louder.  

"Um…  ladies."  Sirius tried to break them up, but immediately withdrew after a long nailed hand came slashing in his direction.  

"Moony, what do we do?"  Sirius asked anxiously.  

"I don't know, I'm sure she was planning this though,"  replied Remus, casting an amused glance at Amber, who was winning so far.  

"But what if they really hurt each other?  Has she got her wand?"   

"Nah, I doubt it.  Ilianna wouldn't think to use hers anyway.  Amber won't get hurt, she's stronger than she looks…"  he winked slyly.  

Sirius chuckled.  "Aha, Moony's Midnight Madness!"  he grinned.  Sirius heard a door bang, amongst the banter of the fight.  He turned to see Tiffany sauntering across the Hall towards him.  

"Hello, my darlings, I'm back,"  she said, her voice betraying the traditional English roots which she normally concealed well by usage of slang.  Sirius frowned, immediately noticing that Tiffany was not herself.  Unfortunately for Tiff, so did Lily.  

"Have you been drinking?"  Lily hissed, storming up to her angrily.  

"No, no, no my dear, of course not."  Tiff hugged Lily, leaning heavily on her for support.  

"You're lying, you're pissed out of your face.  Now what did you drink?"  Lily demanded in a somewhat motherly tone.  

"Not much, just a little vodka,"  Tiff winked, leaving Lily and skipping over to Sirius and Peter.  Lily stalked up to Snape, her face a thunderstorm.  They left the Hall together talking hurriedly.  James, who was commentating the fight, didn't notice. 

"Petaaaaaahr,"  Tiff called, hugging him in a way that Sirius found repulsive.  "How are you sweetie?"  She giggled, ruffling his hair whilst Arabella looked on, amused.  Sirius caught hold of Tiff's arm and pulled her away from the crowd.  

"What are you doing?  And more to the point, what've you been drinking?"  he asked her, holding her shoulders in case she fell.  

"Nothing… nothing…  woah, dizzy now,"  her legs wobbled slightly.  

"Stupid girl, right, look directly at me."  Tiff gazed into his eyes, her pupils huge.  

"All three of you?  Meheew…"  She groaned, then draped her arms round his neck for support.  

"Um… Tiff…  you're not feeling queasy are you?"  he glanced down at her worriedly.  

"No..."  She slurred.  "Sirius?"  She whined softly.  

"What?"  He replied.  Tiff stood on her tiptoes, trusting him in supporting her.

"I love you,"  she whispered into his ear.  Sirius looked at her incredulously.  

"You're drunk,"  he said sadly, regret showing deep in his eyes.  

"I know, but even when I'm not I love you.  Whatever happens, you'll always be my darling Sirius…"  she said, gazing at him adoringly.  Sirius wished he could believe her, god he wished he could...  Tiff looked up at the enchanted ceiling to see the stars twinkling merrily.  "Look up,"  she whispered, motioning towards a piece of mistletoe hovering above them.  She kissed Sirius on the cheek, just as Ilianna happened to look up from the piece of floor where she was lying, having been defeated by Amber.  

"NO!  Get your thieving hands off him!"  Ilianna yelled, scrambling to her feet.  "No!"  She stormed across the dance floor towards where Tiff and Sirius stood embracing.  Ilianna took long definite strides towards them, preparing to attack Tiff when luckily, Amber stepped in for another try.  Before Ilianna knew it, she had tripped over Amber's outstretched foot and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.  Quiet spread through the room.

Tiff looked at Ilianna, puzzled.  "Oh my, what a silly thing to do,"  she said.  Everyone roared with laughter, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  

"Now girls, that is quite enough."  Professor Mondoc had ventured over to investigate.  "Who started it?"  He asked firmly, gazing with sympathy upon a whimpering Ilianna.  

"She did,"  Ilianna and Amber said simultaneously, pointing each other whilst exchanging menacing glares.  Mondoc glanced between the two.  His eyes lingered on the neckline of Ilianna's dress for a second before he announced that they would both receive detention.  

"Hey…  long live Queen Amber,"  Tiff called drunkenly, feeling herself go very light-headed, she swayed slightly.  

"Tiff, TIFF!"  Sirius shouted, but to her his voice seemed to grow more and more faint until she could hear it no longer.  The last thing Tiffany felt was the comforting sensation of being held in Sirius' strong arms, before the world around her faded into darkness…

"Mmmmn…."  Gentle hands shook her, rousing Tiff into the world of the physically awake.  "Whaaaarrrt…?"  Tiff moaned, extremely hung over.  She opened one eye blearily to see a pair of vivid green ones surveying her worriedly.  

"Lemme sleeeeep…"  Tiff rolled over, oblivious to the fact that Lily was wearing muggle clothes.  

"I can't, I came to say goodbye."  At this Tiff tried to sit up but almost immediately collapsed back onto her pillows.  

"Why?  Where are you going?"  She asked drowsily, rubbing her temples gently. 

"Home.  It's almost Christmas remember.  You do remember, don't you?"  Lily frowned worriedly.  

"Yes, Christmas…  but… last night…"  Tiffany looked mortified as realisation dawned on her.  "Oh…  my…  god…"  she wailed.  "What did I do?"  She hid her face in her hands.

"Do you really want to know?"  Lily was doubtful to whether or not she should inform her that Ilianna had told the entire school that Tiff had 'stolen' Sirius away from her, and that she'd caught them snogging under the mistletoe.  Which of course, had remained a mystery as Sirius refused to comment on the matter.  

"Yes,"  said Tiff unsurely.  So Lily told her everything; from Amber giving Ilianna a black eye, to herself and Snape giving Tiff an 'Sober-Up' potion when she had collapsed in Sirius' arms, and finally the question the whole school was asking – were they a couple?

"But…"  Tiff was speechless.  She couldn't recall any of those things, except, strangely enough a bush and … Sirius!  "But  I…"  Yet she couldn't find the words, or excuses for her behaviour.  

"I bet Sirius thinks I'm a right idiot,"  she grimaced.  

"I don't know, he's keeping quite calm about it.  Strange really, you would've thought that he'd use this as an opportunity to poke fun at everyone, especially yourself.  But he's well….  Serious!  No pun intended m'dear,"  said Lily, a thoughtful expression crossed her fair face.  

Tiff frowned, but said nothing.  

"Anyway, I have to go, the others want to come in and say goodbye.  Plus I have to go and see James…"  said Lily, sounding agonised.  They'd only been together for a few months, but already she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.  "And look after him for me, won't you.  Bye Tiffy."  She hugged the pale blonde, who seemed more awake now.  

"Bye, Lils, have a great Christmas,"  she said with a smile, trying to hide her sadness that she wouldn't be with her family.  

"Bye…"  Lily left the room.  Shortly afterwards, Peter, Remus and Amber came into the room, giving her a blow by blow account of how she had pulverised Ilianna.  

"So then, Ilianna kept trying to kick me, right?  …So I grabbed hold of her leg, and spun her round!  You should have seen her hopping round in a circle, flapping her arms like a one-legged chicken!  Oh I almost died laughing!"  Amber giggled, retelling her story enthusiastically.  Tiff laughed as best she could manage.  Her head was pounding now.  

"I wish I remembered it.  I bet you were great,"  she winked at Amber.  

"Yes, but it was very dangerous.  I knew you'd been planning something, and I knew that you'd win, but honestly Amber; what if she'd had her wand?  You would've been in trouble,"  Remus said.  

"Yes but she didn't, dear,"  Amber put an arm around Remus and kissed his cheek.  "Thankyou for having faith in me, sweetie.  I really did think you'd try and stop me."

"Amber, anyone who really knows you would never try to fight you.  You're bloody dangerous, woman!"  he exclaimed jokingly.  Amber glared in mock-rage.  

"How dare you incur the wrath of Queen Amber?  Now you must pay the price, or are you willing to grovel deeply in order to redeem yourself?"  Remus raised an eyebrow.  

"I'll grovel later,"  he winked.  

"Ok, out now!  Out!  Before you make me throw up!"  Tiff exclaimed with a laugh.  Amber hugged her before she left, hand in hand with Remus.  Peter just smiled, his watery blue eyes reminiscing about how she had embraced him when drunk.    
  


Tiff settled herself back against her pillows, yawning tiredly.  She closed her eyes sleepily.  Almost immediately they sprung open as she felt a presence looming over her.  

"Eeek,"  she exclaimed in shock.  Sirius sat next to Tiff, who resembled a frightened rabbit.  

"Oh, it's you,"  she looked at him, feeling slightly embarrassed.  

"Yes, it's _me.  Who else were you expecting?"  He grinned merrily.  _

"No-one, you just scared me…"  she muttered.  "So, why are you here?"  She asked with raised eyebrows.  

"Because….  I wanted to see how you were feeling?"  He raised his eyebrows in return to answer her question.  "And also I wanted to say goodbye."  

"Well; am feeling slightly pukish.  Not that I'm going to be sick, a lady is never sick,"  she shook her head with mock aristocracy.  

"Mneurgh,"  he sneered at her jokily.  An awkwards silence prevailed; Sirius looked at his hands.  

"Tiff...  Can I ask you something?"  His eyes were lowered, in what she presumed was shyness.  

"Sure,"  she replied, feeling slightly on edge.  

"Well… you probably don't remember but, at the ball… you said-"

"Yes."  Replied Tiff, cutting him off in mid-sentence.  

"Yes, what?"  he asked.  

"Yes, I know what I said."

"Oh…"  A tense silence descended on the room as their eyes met.  "Did you mean it?"  Sirius asked softly, his sapphire eyes twinkled nervously, framed by dark lashes and brows.  Tiffany stared back at him defiantly; her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky.  

"Every word."  She whispered.  

Tiff watched in awe as a smile spread across Sirius' face; his eyes lit up as he felt for her hand.  He moved closer to her; Tiff nervously tried to flatten her tousled hair, but to no effect.  

  Sirius held her hand lightly, brushing his thumb gently across her fingers.  Tiffany exhaled softly; her heart was fluttering nervously as he placed a hand on her arm.  

"Let me assure you m'Lady, that your love is not unrequited.  For you will always be my darling too,"  he quoted from her softly, his eyes fixed on hers.  "Until the New Year, my sweet."  Sirius kissed her hand, then reached out and touched her cheek lightly.  He left the room, pausing at the door to cast a final glance in her direction.  

Tiff had to restrain herself from swooning in what was probably the single most romantic moment of her life.  _He's so sweet and tender; and bloody handsome too!  Such a gentleman…  she_ thought with a grin. 

"Hmmmm…"  Tiff sighed dreamily.  "Tiffany Black.  Hmm, no.  Tiffany Miranda Black…  Tiffany Black – Zabini…  I know…  Tiffany Miranda Zabini- Black…  Zabini – Black?  That sounds like a swan!"  she said, immersing herself in her thoughts.  

*  *  *

"Get up!"

"No.  I'm asleep."

"Tiff, I'm ordering you to get up now."

"No…  It's Christmas Day, therefore I am entitled to a lie in."

"But you have to get up.  Come on, there's a surprise waiting for you downstairs."  

Tiffany sat upright, giving James an odd look.  

"Do you have any idea what that sounded like?"  her sleepy eyes shone humorously.  

"Yes, but you must get up now."  He pleaded anxiously, reminding Tiff of a little child, excited at the prospect of Christmas and presents.  

"Why?"

"Because…  lets just say that when Santa came last night he left a special present, only you have to get up now, because it won't last for long."  

Tiff raised an eyebrow.  "Once again my perverted mind chooses to view that a different way to the intended one."  

"Come on."  James grabbed Tiff's arm and dragged the petite blonde out of bed.  

"Meh!  But sleep…"  She stumbled alongside him, making disgruntled noises at being awoken so early (8.30am.)  Tiff followed James, who bore a knowing grin across his face.  

"James, what's going on?"  James simply smiled, then quickened his pace.  He led her towards a balcony which overlooked the common room.  She listened intently as she heard voices; a deep, male aristocratic one, and two female laughs, one of which was so familiar that it wrenched her heart.  

"Mum?"  Tiff ran to the balcony; her face lit up with excitement as she set eyes on her mother and father, who stood by the tree with James' parents.  

"Mummy!"  she squealed, leaping down the stairs and throwing herself into the open arms of the small, curvacious blonde woman whose face bore an expression of sadness and delight.  

"Hello my darling, oh, I missed you so much,"  Mrs Zabini embraced her daughter tightly.  She detached herself from Tiffany's steel-like grip and stepped back to survey her child.  "You've grown,"  she commented, her lavender eyes twinkled.

"Yep,"  said Tiff happily as she hugged  her dad.  "What're you doing here?  I thought you were too busy working."  

"Well, we thought if Tiff can't come for Christmas, then Christmas will come to Tiff,"  said her father with a smile.  

"And me!"  piped James.  

"Yes, and you Jamesie-poo,"  James' mother ruffled his hair affectionately as he screwed up his nose distastefully.  

Tiff laughed.  

"Yeah, Jamesie-poo…"  she teased.  "Ooh, presents!"  she scampered over to the tree excitedly, and began to unwrap, or more appropriately tear open her presents.  

 The parents watched in amazement as Tiff and James acted like children under the tree.  They were struck by how innocent the teenagers looked, and in that moment, Mr Zabini realised that he would never again be presented with a childlike image of his daughter.  She was growing up, and couldn't be sheltered from the real world anymore.  But he still wondered if it was the right time;   whether she was mature enough to handle her responsibilities as heiress to the Zabini fortune and whether she would be able to keep their most treasured possession a secret, even from her friends… And more importantly; from her family.

  Tiff received strange presents from her friends.  Lily had given her a muggle book, entitled "Jane Eyre," as Tiff was a keen reader of muggle literature;  Amber had gotten her some sparkly golden hair clips, that were shaped like butterflies - their wings actually fluttered delicately.  The last present; which she assumed was from either Sirius or Snape, as there was no message, simply the initial 'S'; was in a thin, rectangular box.  The box was plain and brown, nothing special, as seemed its contents.  At first glance, the bracelet looked nothing more than a fine chain, an unusual cross between gold, white gold and silver.  Whatever the material was, Tiffany could not distinguish it, however she noted its simplistic beauty and the pale gold glimmer it emitted when the suns rays caught it's fragile links.  There was a tiny golden heart charm on the bracelet, in the centre of which looked like a solitaire diamond, yet was not.  Diamonds were only glass, and Tiffany cared for them not, yet this was no mere piece of glass.  It shone with a sweet radiance and gleamed a white light, so brightly brilliant that it put the stars to shame.  There was an engraving on the back of the heart, which Tiff could only just see as the writing was miniscule.  

_'Forever_

_  S'_

 Tiffany smiled as she put it on her wrist.  She knew it was from Sirius; it made her realise how much she missed him and how much it pained her heart to admit that she missed him, that she couldn't be without him…

  She caught James watching her from the corner of her eye; a knowing smile crossed his face as she met his eyes with her questioning gaze.  That answered it all.  

James could tell it was from Sirius simply by the look in her eyes, for it was the look she wore whenever she set her eyes upon his mischievous friend.  The look whose meaning was so painstakingly obvious that James wished he could point out how perfect they were for each other.  But… something stopped him.  He supposed it was his friendship with both Sirius and Tiff.  He didn't want either of them to get hurt because of the other.  

Meanwhile, Tiffany's father watched her from the other side of the room.  He beckoned to her to join him.  "Just a quick word," he said.

"What is it?  Is everything ok?"  she asked, concern sounding clearly in her voice.  His eyes looked at her sharply, and he almost smiled at the irony.  His daughter had his wit and awareness; that was for sure.  

"Possibly, possibly not."  He replied.  "Look, there's nothing for you to worry about at the moment but we can't stay at Hogwarts for long."

"You can't?"  Tiff echoed, her face falling dismally.  

"No, at a push we can stay for lunch, but then we'll have to go I'm afraid."  Mr. Zabini rubbed his temples thoughtfully, wondering how best to phrase what he had to tell her.  

"Oh…"  she said, her face betraying her sadness.  "That's alright.  I understand…  work…"

"Yes,"  he said impatiently.  "But there's something I must tell you about.  There's an extra present for you that your mother and I will give you directly before we leave.  We have to go and see Dumbledore about it later… sort out a few minor details…"

Tiff frowned.  Her father looked nervous.  He was never nervous.  Caleb Zabini was renown for his quick and logical thinking under pressure.  So why was the Ministry detective sweating about giving his daughter a present.

"What is it?"  she asked, beginning to feel nervous herself.  

"I – "  he began.  

"Caleb dear, we must see Dumbledore.  Now,"  Mrs. Zabini insisted gently.  

"Right, coming dear."  He embraced Tiffany briefly.  "We'll speak later,"  he said, kissing her forehead before following his wife out of the common room with James' parents.  

Tiff traded a glance with James.  

"Well…. How odd,"  she said quirkily, laughing at the strange version of events.  Her parents weren't usually the 'huggy' sort, plus, why would they have to see Dumbledore?!?  

"Batty.  Absolutely bonkers, the lot of 'em!"  Commented James, devouring a chocolate frog.  

*  *  *

The Zabinis and Potters stayed for Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.  There was one long table, full of adults and a handful of students – two twin Hufflepuff girls, a surly faced Slytherin, and James and Tiff.  The atmosphere was warm and jolly as teachers, students and parents enjoyed the release that Christmas brought.  Yet Tiffany saw things differently.  She watched her parents surreptitiously, and noticed a pattern in their behaviour that betrayed their true feelings – of unease and growing anxiety as time pressed on.  

  Tiff pulled a magical cracker with James, which exploded with an almighty bang, engulfing them in a cloud of blue smoke.  Tiff caught the object which flew at her with deadly precision.  She raised an eyebrow as she looked from James to the stuffed unicorn she was holding.  Their faces split into identical grins as they both thought of the Halloween prank played on Snape.  

As the time came to say their goodbyes, both Tiff and James were tearful.  Her parents pulled her aside and Mr. Zabini handed her a small box bound with silver ribbon.  

"What's this?"  she asked, glancing from the package which lay delicately on the palm of her hand, to the nervous faces of her parents.  

"A gift.  This is an ancient family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation.  You mustn't open the box until your sixteenth birthday, and when you do, you must never let the object out of your sight.  Do you understand?"  Her father said quickly in a hushed voice.  Tiffany blinked a few times before replying.  

"No, not really.  Why can't I open it now?"  Her eyes strayed to the ribbon; her fingers longed to pull at the loose ends, to unravel the silken bow and to finally set eyes upon the mysterious contents of the box. 

"Tiffany, listen to me.  It is vital that that object remains unseen by the bearer until the age of reckoning.  For that is when its ownership will be transferred to you, and without that ownership, the object is free to be claimed," he said earnestly, taking hold of her shoulders to convey the importance of this to her.  

"Claimed?  Bearer?  I don't understand…"  she frowned, not knowing what this meant at all.  Her mother took hold of her hand; silently comforting her.  

"Tiffany, I know this is confusing, and believe me when I say that _life is confusing.  But at this moment in time, all you need to know is that your task is to protect the object,"  she said gently, her lavender eyes filled with understanding and concern.  _

"But protect from whom?  And what in the name of Merlin is 'the object?"  said Tiff, becoming more frustrated as she grew more confused.  

"Don't curse Tiffany, you were not brought up that way,"  he father frowned.  

Tiff rolled her eyes.  "I can't tell you that right now, but what I can tell you is that all will be revealed in due course."  Replied her mother.  

"Oh, Tiffany…"  she sighed, wrapping her arms around her daughter protectively.  Tiff hugged her back, overwhelmed with confusion and sadness.  She wished that they didn't have to leave, and she wished that they hadn't left things so unexplained.  

"I love you sweetheart, remember that.  You'll always be my little girl,"  her mother kissed her cheek and hugged her once more before reluctantly withdrawing.  Tiff noticed the tears in her mother's eyes, yet tore her gaze away from them as her father embraced her.  

"We must go, time is short.  Goodbye dear Tiffany."  He kissed her forehead, then leaned towards her ear and whispered softly:

"Keep it secret, keep it safe," before turning and striding towards the horse-less carriages which would take them to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, from where it would be safe to disapparate.  

Tiff nodded briefly before her eyes returned to her mother.  

"Goodbye,"  she whispered.  Her eyes welled up, and her fists clenched as she fought the tears.  Her mother was now openly sobbing, gazing at Tiffany longingly.  This disturbed Tiff, as she had never before seen her mother cry.  

"Aurora."  Tiff's father called to her mother, as she swayed, torn between her husband and her daughter.  

"Go, mum,"  said Tiff sadly.  

"Goodbye my darling,"  whispered her mother as she walked slowly towards Caleb, who put an arm around her as she cried in the carriage.  

Tiff watched them leave until she could no longer see the carriage.  She wiped her eyes, then cast a glance towards James, who was also attempting to cover up his sadness.  She made an effort to smile, yet it came out as a racked sob.  James patted Tiff reassuringly on the back.  

"They'll be ok, don't worry,"  he said soothingly, yet his voice quavered slightly as doubt crept into his mind.  He had been writing to his parents regularly for months, and by their accounts, things seemed to be growing worse as Voldemorts ranks grew in numbers and strength.  He didn't voice these thoughts to Tiff though; she was upset enough at her parents departure.  

Tiff didn't hear the fault in his voice.  She was worried.  More worried than she had ever been; and sadness, confusion and concern were not a good combination.  Especially not now that she had a task, and a dangerous task at that…

a/n  dun dun duuuuuuun…..  next chapter:

What will Sirius do now that he knows Tiff's true feelings… What exactly is 'the object' in the box… Why will Amber feature heavily in the next chapter? 

Find out in chapter eight of 'Destiny',  due in erm…. 2002.  Soon.  I hope!

Reviews are very much appreciated, and I can (almost) guarantee that I will either review your story or send you a nice 'thankyou' e-mail!  

Also, if you would like to be added to my mailing list, (I haven't forgotten you all!) then please leave a note and your e-mail address in your review!  Ha!  Now you have to review!  Unless you flame…  please don't!  

Ok, I'm gone….


	8. Once Upon A Dream

a/n – **I am well aware that this chapter is extremely over-due.  I blame, school, exams and my evil boyfriend who has been taking up all my time.  This chapter is quite relevant to the story, despites it's somewhat randomness.  The story is going to get darker, but I'll try and keep the weird humour in!  Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and remember, if you want to be notified when I update, just leave me your e-mail addy in your review!  Thanks!**

… Okay, that must have been written ages ago.  I said I wasn't going to finish it recently, because of time and commitment issues, but I am possibly back, with a vengeance!  I'm posting chapter eight, and if people like it, then I'll try my hardest to find time to finish it.  The story is nearing the end anyways… it would be a waste of all the time I've spent writing if I didn't finish it.  Although… it might take me a while…  You might be interested in knowing that I have dumped the evil, time restricting boyfriend… he can burn in hell…  and I got 2 A's for English in my GCSE's.  I was so chuffed… but anyway… on with the fic!  

**Destiny**

Chapter Eight –  Once Upon A Dream

It was the middle of January and he still hadn't said more than a few words to her.  Why?  He was afraid.  Afraid and embarrassed.  When Sirius had seen Tiffany on the first day back after the Christmas holiday, he had stood still, rooted to the spot.  She was more beautiful than when he had said goodbye.  As their eyes met, she had smiled shyly, a pinkish tinge appearing in her pale cheeks.  Yet she did not look away in embarrassment as he had done.  She had gazed at him, and he'd felt her eyes upon him for a long time afterwards, whilst his remained lowered.  

It continued to be like that; both stealing glances at the other, sometimes catching their eye and exchanging a smile for one in return.  Sirius had meant to speak to Tiffany about their relationship; whether it should remain platonic or whether they should pursue it further.  Yet every time he worked up the courage to ask her 'for a quick word' (as he had rehearsed it in his mind many times), she always seemed to be surrounded by hundreds of friends, or at least Lily and Amber.  And so Sirius, being quite shy underneath the confident exterior, backed down, as usual.  

As if by fate, during a Transfiguration lesson on a miserable Thursday afternoon, Tiffany was placed next to Sirius by McGonagall, who had drawn up a seating plan in an attempt to subdue the rowdy class.  

"Hi,"  she smiled warmly, placing her bag on the desk and sitting down with a swish of her hair.  

"Hi,"  replied Sirius, tensing up slightly.  

"So, how've you been?  I haven't gotten a chance to speak to you yet, or have you been avoiding me?"  Tiffany's amethyst eyes sparkled playfully.  Sirius instantly relaxed, feeling grateful towards her for creating their normal, easy-going atmosphere.  

"I haven't been avoiding you, and let's face it; I couldn't even if I wanted to, seeing as we're in the same house and all of the same classes."  He replied with an eyebrow raised cockily.  "I'm fine, you?"  He added after pausing for a breath.

Tiffany scrunched her nose up as she grinned, making her look absolutely adorable to Sirius.  "I'm good,"  she nodded.  Sirius sighed softly, gazing at her, smitten.  Tiff felt his eyes upon her and looked at him questioningly.  "What?"  she asked, sounding slightly bemused.  

"Nothing…"  he muttered, looking at the desk.  

"Does that 'nothing' mean something?"  Tiffany enquired gently. 

"Maybe."

"Does that 'maybe' mean a yes?"

"Possibly."

"Does that 'possibly' mean a definitely?"  

They continued in this style for a while longer, before McGonagall told them off for talking.

Sirius tried to concentrate in class, he really did, but he couldn't honestly say that Tiff wasn't distracting him.  It wasn't her fault though.  Just something as simple as hearing an exasperated sigh, or seeing her tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear, from the corner of his eye was enough for her to dominate his thoughts.  _I really do need to talk to her,_ he mused silently.  

"Sirius!"  Tiffany hissed, elbowing him sharply.  Sirius jerked awake, suddenly realising that he had been dozing and the entire class was now staring at him, including a very irate McGonagall.     

"Yes?"  he said calmly, his clear blue eyes were large and innocent as McGonagall advanced upon him.  

"Mr. Black.  For the third and final time; which Transfigurati theologist wrote a biographical account of his experiences during his discovery of a transmogrification method which was later named after him?"  McGonagall said this very clearly, uttering every word with precise emphasis.  

Sirius held her gaze for a moment, before replying, in a very calm and collected voice:

"Doctor Albertus Von Animagious was the first warlock to concoct the exact potion, timed precisely with the correct dates in the lunar calendar and the specifically meditative state of mind, which therefore enabled him to transform into an animal.  The term 'animagus' stemmed from his surname, and the title of his biography was; 'Animagi: The Theories and Practises of Transforming Magicks.'

McGonagall stared, speechless along with the rest of the class, par James, Peter and Remus who sat and grinned, for that was the book which had helped them to acquire their Animagi powers. 

"Well done Mr. Black, very well done, ten points to Gryffindor…"  said the astounded teacher.  Sirius smiled at Tiff, who narrowed her eyes questioningly.  

  After class he finally caught her on her own as they walked slowly back to the Common Room.  

"Well Sirius, teacher's pet, I bet you love that eh?"  Tiff raised her eyebrows as her perverse sense of humour got the better of her.  

"Oh yes darling, because what stunningly handsome young male wouldn't want to be McGonagall's 'bit on the side'?  Mind you, she is quite old, about twenty-seven I'd say, therefore, a woman of many experiences."  Sirius faked an excited look as Tiff snorted in a most unladylike manner.  

"Sirius Black, my innocent mind knows not of these 'experiences' of which you speak,"  Tiff's eyes grew very wide as she played the part of the little girl tremendously well.  

"Well my sweet, if you'd just like to step inside this broom cupboard with me, I can 'show you'," Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as Tiff placed a hand over her heart.  

"I hope you're not suggesting the thought of myself and a broom engaging in sexual activities?"  She exclaimed, managing to hold a very serious face whilst Sirius collapsed laughing.  

"Not at all my dear, I'd much rather have you to myself."  The laughter ceased and silence prevailed as a glance passed between the two sets of eyes.  

"Look, Sirius, I…"

"Tiff, before you say anything, just stop."  Tiff stopped, frowning and motioning for him to continue.  "Will you meet me later?  We really need to talk things through…" he said, fiddling with his hands.  

"Alright.  Where and when?"  Her voice was so calm that it unnerved him.   

"In the Common Room at twelve?"  She nodded.  "Good, I'll bring James' invisibility cloak and we can go for a walk in the grounds."  

"Okay.  I'll see you tonight then?"  She tilted her head.  

"Tonight."  He nodded.

They resumed in walking back to the Common Room.  Sirius caught Tiff smiling, and asked why.  

"I was just thinking, that now there's going to be an awkward silence until we part."  She smiled.  

"Well, we all know that the only way to kill silence is by talking, no?" Sirius grinned in reply to her smile – a smile that made rainbows look dull in comparison.  

They walked together and talked together and when they finally said goodbye, Sirius touched her cheek gently with the back of his hand.  It was a gesture so simple that if you blinked then you'd miss it entirely.  Yet to Tiffany, his touch seemed to linger, reminding her evermore of her feelings towards him.  

*  *  *

"What am I doing?  And more importantly, why am I leaving a nice warm, dorm room to venture out into the freezing cold, just to talk with a boy?"  Tiff muttered to herself, quite sure that if she was being watched then her imaginary stalker would be quite certain that she was classifiably insane.  However, we have grown to know Tiffany, and therefore the act of her talking to herself is relatively normal compared to other things she has previously done.  

  Tiff pulled on her clothes, dragged a brush through her hair and fled as speedily as she could down the stairs.  She was five minutes late already as the clock read 12.05am.  

"Where've you been?  I was just about to come and get you!"  Tiff looked around but couldn't see Sirius anywhere.  

"Where've I been?  Where are you?  Or am I supposed to try and find you in the dark when you have the advantage of being invisible?"  she said sarcastically.  

"Shut up or someone will hear you!  Let's go,"  Sirius took Tiff's hand in his and pulled her under the cloak.  They quickly left the school and journeyed across the grounds towards the Lake, on the border of the Forbidden Forest.  

"Sirius, where are you taking me?"  Tiff hissed, feeling slightly uneasy as they drew closer to the forest.  

"Don't you trust me?"  Sirius squeezed her hand, feeling her shaking with cold. 

Tiff laughed shortly.  "Would you think I'm strange if I said I did?"  

"Very."

"Then, no I don't."

"Liar."

"So."

"Shh, now you have to trust me.  Stay as quiet as you can, and step where I step."  

Tiff sighed and gripped his hand tighter, as they were still covered by the cloak.  Sirius led her deep into the forest; along winding, narrow paths, under dark and menacing trees, and past the places where strange noises seemed to echo in the darkness.  Through the deathly silence where only leaves were heard rustling as they walked.  Tiff squeezed his hand for comfort, frightened by the blackness of the forest.  

  The trees seemed to be getting thicker and more dense.  She heard a snuffling noise to her left.  Tiffany turned swiftly.  There were shadows moving in the undergrowth.  She wanted to run.  But Sirius held her hand tightly.  There was something comforting about him, she didn't know what or why, but she felt safe with him.  

"Sirius, where the hell are we going?"  she hissed.

"Shh, we're nearly there now."

"Nearly where?  Where are you taking me?"  Tiff demanded in a furious whisper.  

"Shh, just trust me.  There's something I want to show you…"  Despite the situation, Tiff smiled to herself.  Oh, how she could twist his words into something perverse…  "You'll like it, I promise."

"Oh, I bet I will."  Tiff felt Sirius shake with a quiet laughter.  

"You will, I know you will.  Right, when we get past these trees I'm going to pull the cloak off.  Now, just keep close to me."  

  Tiff nodded, then smiled in embarrassment as she remembered that she was under an invisibility cloak, therefore her nod would remain unacknowledged.  

  The trees were so thick here that it was almost impossible to distinguish one from another.  They were close together, with hardly any gaps separating them.  Sirius pulled the cloak away; Tiff shivered, realising just how cold it was.  He took her hand again as he tucked the cloak under his arm.  He started walking towards the trees, but Tiff stood, refusing to move.  

"Where are we?"  she demanded.

"We're in the heart of the forest." Sirius looked up at the sky as the crescent moon emerged from behind a cloud, he then glanced towards the trees.  "Tiffany, I'm asking you to trust me one last time.  I know you're probably very confused, and think I'm going to attack you or something, but I swear that nothing will hurt you."  He took her freezing hands in his, holding her gaze with sincere azure eyes.  

"I trust you.  I don't know why, but I just do,"  she replied.  "So, where're we going?"  She asked inquisitively.  

"Somewhere."  His eyes sparkled in anticipation as he took he hand and led her into the grove of trees.  

The trees around were like black holes; draining the light and locking it away forever.  There was a great sense of foreboding in the atmosphere.  It was as if the trees were alive; breathing, moving…  There wasn't a sound, except for the muffled noise of their footsteps on the forest floor.  No birds or animals lived in this place, and none had ever ventured here before on foot. 

The air was still and deathly silent.  Tiff glanced around cautiously; they were surrounded by a ring of the tallest trees and were stood facing three.  Two smaller, withered trees stood either side of the central one.  The tree was huge, and seemed to be the blackest in the entire forest.  Its trunk was thick and oddly distorted, like faces of old had been trapped in its vast depth.  

  Sirius led her towards the tree.  Stopping a few feet away, he placed a steadying arm around her shoulders.  

"Focus on the centre of the tree, on that swirling shape,"  he said softly into her ear.  She nodded, following his instructions as they walked forwards.  Tiff was slightly afraid as the tree loomed up in front of her face.  As the tree got closer, Tiff shut her eyes tightly, expecting to walk into the rough bark any moment, yet the shock of the wood never came.  

Tiff felt an icy chill run through her body for a split second; then everything was still apart from a light breeze that moved her hair gently.  Slowly, she opened her eyes to an entirely different scene from the one she had last set eyes upon.  She opened her mouth to speak, but found that no words came out.  Tiff glanced at Sirius who smiled and looked over the wondrous sight held before them.  

  
*  *  *

"Right, I've got a good one!"  Four teenagers groaned in unison, sending a dull echo around the boys dormitory.  It was 12.15am and they were still too hyper to go to bed.   

"Oh really, come on then!  This should be good, Amber trying to tell a joke is like a muggle trying to do magic,"  James mocked, whilst Amber glared venomously.  

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted; I have a joke,"  said Amber, clapping her hands excitedly. 

"Right.  What do you do if you're out on a date, and a bird craps on your broomstick?"  Amber looked around expectantly; James shrugged and Lily rolled her eyes.  

"Enlighten us darling; what _do_ you do?"  said Remus with an eyebrow raised.  

"You never take her out again!"  Amber giggled.  Everyone apart from Lily, who was snickering and shaking her head, stared at Amber curiously.  "You know, bird as in girl?"  Amber raised her eyebrows as a look of realisation came across the boys faces and they laughed.  "Well, it took you long enough!"  She exclaimed.  

"Good one Amber,"  Peter chuckled, his blue eyes watering to the point of tears.  

Amber smiled, basking in the limelight like a cat in the sun.  She loved being the centre of attention, and with her classic beauty she fit the role perfectly; like a Greek goddess, made to be worshipped.  Although Amber was adored by many people, most of all her friends, she had never been loved by anyone as much as she'd been loved by Remus.  He was the one.  The only one for her; now and forever.  Amber already knew that she'd marry him, probably when they left school.  She guessed that they'd have two children; a girl and a boy and although they would inherit the curse of the wolf, Amber would love them so much that nothing else would matter.  

  Whilst Amber was daydreaming of her future life with Remus, her children and their dogs in a cottage in Dorset, her other half was regarding her intently with a smile of amusement at her aloof expression.  Feeling eyes upon her, Amber raised her own large brown doe eyes and narrowed them at Remus.  

"What?"  she asked, sounding puzzled.  Remus sighed heartily and gave Amber the loving smile that he reserved especially for her.  

"Nothing darling.  I was just wondering how on earth I managed to get you and keep you,"  he said seriously.  

"Aww, come here you foolish puppy…"  Amber left her comfortable position on James' bed to sit on Remus' lap with her arms around his thin but lithe shoulders.  Remus embraced her tightly, kissing her throat softly.  

"I feel so lucky.  You're one in a million Amber.  I'm so glad that I have you and I'm terrified that you'll go away…"  he whispered softly, his voice trembling slightly which betrayed his fears.

Amber kissed his forehead and tilted his face upwards to meet her gaze.  

"I'll never go away Remus.  I love you more than life itself…  I don't think I could live without you.  Just promise me you'll never leave me…"  Amber's voice quavered softly with emotion as her tear stained eyes shone earnestly.  

  Remus gazed back at her warm brown eyes with darker ones full of toiling emotions; love, pain and longing all rolled into one.  

Gently, Remus cupped Amber's soft face and ran the back of his hand down her left cheek.  Amber leaned into his caress and in the split second when their eyes met, they understood.  For Remus there was an overwhelming sense of unity, but for Amber it hit her like lightening; sharp, clear and concise.  They were meant to be together.  It was like a prophecy, a tale written in the stars.  He was the other half of her mysteries, her playmate, her betrothed, her soul mate, her destiny…  

Remus held his gaze as steady as he possibly could.  Then said softly, in barely a whisper:

"I would never leave you.  I'd follow you into death and beyond."  

   As if in slow motion, they moved towards each other and their lips met in an electrifying, tingling kiss.  It was sweet and irresistible, like their first kiss under the apple tree in the village where they both lived.  The kiss was a sign of their love, and anyone who looked on now would realise a love that strong would never fade away.

   *    *    *

Tiffany took several steps forwards before her legs gave way and she sank towards the ground.  Sirius caught her before she hit the floor.  

"Are you alright?"  he asked, but Tiff wasn't listening.  She gazed around at her surroundings, in awe.  The place they were, was in stark contrast to the place they had left.  The Forest had been dark, scary and unwelcoming.  Oppositely, this new place was light, peaceful and overall, safe.  

  They were in a glade; where the silver trees seemed to shimmer and sway with an inner light, waves of grassland that was unimaginably green, a gentle waterfall and pool that seemed to twinkle and sparkle like crystal in the sun.  The whole area was as wonderful and exciting as an alien planet.  A violet mist hung in low air giving the place an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue.  

  Tiff was brought out of her wondering childlike trance by the sound of Sirius' voice.  

"That happened to me the first time I came here too."  _What?_  "I think it must be the change in altitude.  Knocks you off your feet."  He was crouching next to her, his hand still on her arm, steadying her balance.  Tiff felt comforted by Sirius' presence.  He was the only familiar thing in this strange world.  For the first time, Tiff smiled at him, reaching to give his hand a gently squeeze.  Sirius grinned boyishly and returned the squeeze.  

"Come on,"  he pulled her to her feet and led her towards the crystal blue pool.  Sirius stopped suddenly, then placed his hands over Tiff's eyes.  "Ever wondered where unicorns come from?"  His warm breath tickled her earlobe.  As he removed his hands, an amazingly unique sight was held before Tiff's eyes.  

"Oh Sirius…"  she gasped wondrously.  Tiff stared at the pool, which was surrounded by hundreds of unicorns, all shapes, colours and sizes, each one uniquely beautiful.  Some were drinking from the cool water of the pool, colts were frolicking in the shallows and mares were dozing peacefully under the silvery branches of a willow tree.  

  The sight was truly remarkable, and Tiffany made sure that she looked at everything carefully, remembering specific details.  Sadly, she realised that she would never see anything as enchanting as these beautiful creatures in their natural environment, drinking safely, without a care in the world.  

"Thank you.  For bringing me here, I mean…"  As if by instinct, Tiff reached for Sirius and the following moment she was being held in his strong arms.  She sighed peacefully, resting her head on his shoulder.  

"Sirius, where exactly is 'here'?"  she asked, her violet eyes questioning his azure ones.  

"In all honesty, I'm not exactly sure,"  he said whilst stroking her hair softly.  "I think we're in sort of a haven…  a place in between worlds…"  He paused as if in mid thought.  Planting a kiss on Tiff's forehead, Sirius sat down and gestured for her to sit beside him.  "I should explain how I discovered this place…  it might make things clearer both for me and you."  Tiff nodded, encouraging for him to continue.  "Well…"  he began.  "Tonight's moon is a crescent and on last month's crescent I found this place."  Tiff looked at him expectantly.  "Well…  I was in the forest, when I saw the moonlight shining on the tree we came through.  I noticed the whirl in the bark, and then went to touch it and…  found myself here…"  He paused to run a hand through his hair.  "I know it sounds kind of strange, but that's what happened…  weird, huh?" 

"No, of course not.  I find doors to different dimensions everyday,"  Tiff replied with a sly grin.  Sirius frowned at her.  

"You don't believe me?"  He sounded slightly hurt.

"Of course I believe you, but you have to admit that things like that don't happen everyday."  Tiff's eyes narrowed slightly as something that had been lurking in the depths of her mind came to the surface.  "Sirius…  Why did you bring me here?"  She asked, her curiosity sparkled like a violet flame in her wide eyes.  Sirius frowned, thinking of how best to phrase the answer.  

"I don't know really… it just seemed… right.  Like…  we were meant to be here… together…"  As he said the word 'together', he raised his eyes to meet hers and reached for her hand.  

  Tiff exhaled gently.  Just the simple touch of his skin on hers felt like electricity.  She basked in the sweet, dizzying feeling that came with being touched by Sirius.  Tiff opened her eyes – she hadn't realised that they were closed – and found herself in his arms.  Sirius was stroking her hair with one hand, the other holding her tightly; his face was pressed into her hair, kissing it softly.  Tiff held him back as he kissed her hair, her cheeks, her nose and finally her mouth…  

  As his lips met hers in their first proper kiss – they had kissed before, but not since their feelings had been made clear to each other – both Tiff and Sirius realised how special the other was, and knew instantly that they would never love anyone as much.  The scene would remain forever in both of their memories.  It could've been a painting; a young couple kissing in a beautiful glade, surrounded by unicorns under a crescent moon.  

  For a while, neither of them could resist the sweet temptation of the kiss.  After what seemed like an eternity, Tiff pulled back slightly.  Sirius made an indignant sound and pulled her back.  Tiff kissed him back, unable to contest the will of her heart.  Sirius planted butterfly kisses all over her neck.  This had an awesome effect on Tiff who underwent a pleasantly dizzying sensation with each kiss.  She sighed blissfully, enjoying the close contact between Sirius and herself.  Sirius sucked on her neck, getting caught up in the heat of the moment.  Whilst her mouth was free, Tiff took the chance to try and deter him away from her.  

"Sirius…  We have to get back before someone misses us…"  She said, sounding slightly breathless.  Sirius paused for a moment before saying, "I know… just two more minutes…"  then resuming in the ravishing of Tiff's lovely neck.  He brought a hand up to cup her cheek, and kissed her gently, with such softness that Tiff could feel his love pouring into her.  Eventually, he pulled back, his eyes hazy from kissing.  

"I…"  he began but was cut off by Tiff placing a finger on his lips to silence him.  

"I know,"  she said simply, showing that there was no need for the words.  Slowly, they rose to their feet and walked, hand in hand, towards the great tree, which from this side looked magnificent in its silvery light.  A few feet away from the tree, Tiff suddenly stopped, and cast a glance back over the glade.  She watched the unicorns frolic happily, unaware of the danger found on the other side of the Great Tree.  As she gazed over the fairy-tale scene which lay before her eyes, Tiff noticed a secluded clearing where so many bluebells grew that it looked like a lilac carpet.  _I know this…_  She thought, overwhelmed by a feeling of deja-vu.  

"Tiffany?  What's wrong?"  Sirius asked sounding concerned, but Tiff ignored him.  She watched the clearing with a hawk-like gaze…  There!  A spark of recognition lit up her eyes as one of the unicorns wandered across the clearing.  It was black and gold, and unlike any creature she had ever laid eyes on.  It suddenly stopped, sniffed the air, and in a flash it was gone.  Tiff took a moment to think, of where she had seen the beast before… 

"Tiff?"  Sirius shook her arm gently, which instantly snapped her out of the trance.  

"Sorry… I was miles away…"  Tiff wasn't exactly sure why she didn't tell him about the way she recognised the unicorn, but somehow she knew it was for the best.  

Tiff and Sirius made their way through the Great Tree, and back to the castle in the space of half an hour.  At the bottom of the stairs, between the two dormitories, they stopped to say goodnight.  Sirius kissed Tiff one last time, before turning to go to bed.  

  Tiff walked languidly up the stairs, deep in thought.  On the way back, she and Sirius had both agreed to keep their unconfirmed relationship a secret, as their friends would just say "I told you so", and they would have to suffer yet more teasing.  Tiff was glad that she and Sirius did in fact have some kind of relationship, even if it wasn't official.  She smiled to herself… some secrets were fun to keep!  Through her elusive fantasises, came the primary and most important subject on her mind – the unicorn.  She just couldn't quite comprehend how she _knew_ it.  There was something so familiar that it was frightening… about the clearing.  The whole trip had been amazing… like a dream…  Tiff lay down in her bed, with the word 'dream' in her mind.  

_Once upon a dream…_Suddenly, it struck her like a bolt of lightening.  Memories came flooding back to her; dreams, thoughts, premonitions, prophecies…  As she drifted off to sleep these thoughts remained with her, ready to be put into action the next morning.    

*   *   *

"So?"

"What?" 

"What, what?"

"Who is he?"

"Who?"

"Mr. 'I like to suck on girls' necks' Vampire Mysterious – who is incidentally hot hot hot!"  Tiff held her head up in a haughty manner, then self consciously re-adjusted her polo neck.  "I don't know why you won't tell us, it's not as if we're going to tell McGonagall…"  Amber said with wide, pleading eyes.  Tiff, Amber and Lily were sat in Potions, where the discussion topic, as in many other groups was Tiff's neck.  Unawares to Tiff, Sirius had unknowingly given her a love bite, which had blossomed overnight into a lovely purple bruise.  All of Gryffindor had already seen it, including McGonagall who had given Tiff a hazardous look.  

"I don't know what you're talking about Amber.  As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with my neck… I just slept funny, that's all…"  Tiff took the only route she could in this kind of situation – denial in the form of barefaced lies.  

"Oh, come of Tiffikins, We KNOW  that you have a secret lover who you meet in the woods for a quick…"  Amber grinned, her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised to the ceiling.  Tiff glared venomously.  

"A quick 'what', Amber?"  she said through her teeth.  

"A quick…  LOVEBITE!  You know, sucking on necks, chewing on veins, biting on flesh… Wooo…  the kiss of death, heeeeh…"  Amber said this very loudly and dramatically, making a vampire-like motion at the end, complete with hissing sound effects.  The entire class turned and sniggered as Tiff turned a delightful shade of crimson.  

"Just tell us, and the humiliation will be over…"  Amber whispered.  

"Leave her Amber-roos, she'll tell us in her own time,"  Lily said.  Amber made a disgruntled noise of objection in reply, yet said nothing.  

Tiff leant into her hand, which was cleverly obscuring the left side of her neck.  She sighed heavily, and let her eyes wander.  She found her gaze captured by a pair of crystal blue eyes, which belonged to a black haired by on the next table.  His eyes twinkled as he laughed merrily… at her.  Tiff didn't change her facial expression, but hardened her gaze, which quietened the chuckles of Sirius.  He, James, Peter and Remus turned their chairs round to face the girls.  

"Aww, poor Tiff…"  said Peter with genuine sympathy.  

"Oh, shut it rat-boy, you're just jealous that it wasn't you who gave her that whopper of a hicky!"  James exclaimed which caused the others to laugh, Tiff to glare and Peter to turn red and mumble softly.  

"So who was it?"  Remus enquired, his brown eyes peered at her with good natured inquisition.  

"Yeah, tell us, tell us…  or we'll kick you out of… The Trio!"  Amber and Lily said dramatically.  Tiff looked horrified.

"Don't be ridiculous, I invented the Trio, therefore, you cannot kick me out!"  she replied haughtily.  

"Yes we can, can't we Amber-roos?" 

"We sure can Lily-poohs, then we'll be… The Duo!"  Tiff rolled her eyes.  

"Erm…  ladies?  The Trio would be…?"  Sirius asked, looking confused.  Tiff grinned.  

"Well, Lily, Amber and I, have decided that feminism is a passing trend, and we must look to the future.  Therefore, we have decided that we will abandon 'boys' and adopt the growing trend in muggles, of homosexuality."  An excited glance was shared between the boys as they all said as one, "Lesbians!"  

"Well done Sparky, and because of our new found glory as female companions, we've given each other pet names.  I'm Tiffikins, and they're Lily-poohs and Amber-roos!  Cutesy, eh?"  

"Wow…  my girlfriend's bi-sexual with your girlfriend.  Rock on dude!"  James hugged Remus in a 'typical bloke' manner.  

"Don't forget Mr. Vampire Mysterioh-so-hot's girl is also a lesley bean."  Amber winked at Lily, who giggled.  Tiff just glared, and Sirius adopted an interested look.  

"Eh?  And Mr. Vampire Mysterioh-so-hot would be who exactly?  Tiffany… you're not… leaving me for Snape are you?"  Sirius placed a hand over his heart dramatically.  

"Oh my god…  Snape!!!"  Lily and Amber said in unison, clutching each other excitedly.  

"So, Lesbianism is a growing trend, soon there'll be more lesbians than broomsticks, right?"  Tiff tried to change the subject, but her efforts were squashed.  

"Yeah Tiff, if the only other alternative's Snape I'd be a lesbian anyday!"  Amber cackled insanely.

"You're not a lesbian?"  Remus looked disappointed.

"No, you retarded werew…errr…  weirdo!"  Amber replied, cursing herself for the slip of the tongue.  

"Oh… I was kind of hoping Tiff'd join us… never mind though,"  he sighed heavily, although his eyes twinkled mischievously.  Sirius' eyes narrowed for a second, which only Tiff saw, then he grinned and said, "I'm sure Mr. Vampire Mysterioh-so-hot would object strongly to that notion Remmy."

"True, if we knew who Mr. VM is.  Tiff?"  All eyes turned to Tiffany who had busied herself in making the potion that they were supposed to be testing in ten minutes.  

"What?  I've already told you that there_ is _no Vampire Mysterioh-so-hot or whatever!  Now, can we please do some work so we actually have something to test in ten minutes time?"  Tiff stressed, getting flustered.  Lily and Amber could sense that she saw their fun as more than a joke now, and decided it was time to stop.  They moved back, to work with Tiff and quietly got on with the making of the potion.  Ten minutes later, Professor Bolooki, the young, attractive Potions teacher stood in front of the class and paired everyone off.  Tiff was Amber's partner, Lily was James', Remus was with Peter and Sirius, to his own dismay was partnered with Snape.  

"Right class, now the potion you have been preparing this lesson is a simple concoction of herbs and leaves which can be personalised to change the appearance of someone.  Of course, it's probably faster and more effective to use an illusion spell, but this method can also be useful to know.  Why is this?  Ah, Ilianna?"  Tiff groaned as the blonde almost fell off her chair, as she was waving her arm violently in attempt to ensure that everyone noticed her.  Tiff continued making the potion…  her and Amber almost had it…  

"Six…  I think it says six, there's a smudge on the book.  No… sixteen, sorry.  Right, sixteen… pinches? of fairy dust…  that should do the trick,"  Amber whispered as Tiff added the final ingredient and stirred the thick, bubbling potion which had turned an unusual shade of green.  

"Ok…"  Ilianna stood up, to attract even more attention.  "Another reason why this potion would be useful is… because it changes your appearance!"  Ilianna said triumphantly, ignoring the communal groan of the class.  

"Yes dear, that is quite true… but WHY is this useful?"

"Because it makes you look different.  So people won't recognise you,"  Ilianna explained happily.  The Professor sighed, and then thanked Ilianna who grinned like a demented cat, sat down, and purred.  

"Any other reasons?"  he enquired, purposefully ignoring Ilianna's waving arm.  To Tiff's surprise, Sirius stood up, scowling at Snape, who returned the glare with a vengeance.   

"It'd be useful to know if you were stuck in the mountains or a forest without your wand, and the only materials around you were plants.  Then you'd be able to camouflage yourself against dark forces or predators, etcetera.  However, if the bearer was animagus, then things would be a lot easier."  He added with a sly grin at James, Remus and Peter.  

"Thank you Black, finally someone who can think for themselves…"  he added in an undertone.  Sirius nodded at Bolooki, and then sat back down, giving Tiff a quick smile before completely changing his expression to throw a look of hatred towards Snape who sneered back.  

Ok class.  We are going to conduct a simple experiment; you will each take half of your potion, and exchange a single hair, FROM YOUR HEAD, with your partner, add the hair to your own share and then consume and wait for a change to occur.  Mr. Black?"  The Professor raised his eyebrows at Sirius who was scowling.  

"Sir, I'd like to change partners.  Severus and I are not compatible at all," he said in clipped tones, making it fairly obvious that he was dying to add 'and there is no way I am drinking anything with his foul greasy hair sweat in it'.  

Tiff sniggered at his expression, which earned her an icy glare.  

"Request denied Black, you'll have to learn to get along with your peers."  As Bolooki turned, he smiled, he wouldn't wish anyone to have to even touch Severus Snape's grease filled head, let alone drink the essence of it.  Sirius glared at Snape, who glared back.  A cold silence prevailed.  

"I'll use my hair, you use yours, I think that's for the best…"  _…__you foul haired, disgustingly unhygienic excuse for a wizard.  _Snape nodded gruffly then rudely turned his back on Sirius, who did the same.  

Meanwhile, Remus and Peter had successfully drank their potions, resulting in a light-brown haired Peter and an ash blonde Remus.  Amber looked over at him and giggled.  She then glanced at Tiff, who was counting down…  three… two… one…  both girls held their noses and gulped down the potion, which, incidentally, didn't taste as foul as expected.  In fact, it sort of tasted a bit like herbal tea…  A tingling sensation passed through the girls, lasting a while longer than any other students.  Tiff had closed her eyes.  She could feel herself changing, and when it finally stopped, she looked up at Amber and squealed.  

"Aaah…  jesus Amber, you look fantastic!"  For it was true, if Amber looked stunning with her glossy auburn hair then she was almost angelically beautiful with Tiff's platinum blonde locks.  

"Oh my god, Tiff, you should see yourself!  You look wicked darling!"  Tiff ran to a mirror and stood, open mouthed with shock at the long mane of gold hair that cascaded down her back.  "You cow…  why doesn't my hair look like that on me?"  Amber pouted.  

"Wow…"  Tiff breathed, touching her hair tentatively.  "Ammie, look at Lily and James,"  she stifled a giggle, pointing at the reflection in the mirror.  It was quite a funny sight.  James had dark red hair, which actually suited him; and Lily had black hair that made her look like Ms. Vampire Mysterioh-so-hot!  It gave her an unearthly gothic beauty, that didn't quite seem legal, whereas James could've taken the place of any prince in a fairytale, his classic features emphasised by the redness of his hair.  

"Ok, now that you've all noticed the, *ahem* changes, you will also notice, that the ones who took the potion early are beginning to fade.  You should all be back to normal by the end of the lesson."  

But by the end of the lesson, Tiff and Amber's hair was still as vibrant as ever.  

"Erm… ladies, just out of curiosity, how much fairy dust did you include?"  Bolooki asked when they questioned him about why the effects weren't wearing off.  

"Sixteen pinches."  His eyes widened, and his lips grew stretched.  

"Girls, it was supposed to be 0.6th of a gram.  Not sixteen pinches!"

"But…  we couldn't read it clearly in the book… that's what I thought it said," protested Amber.  

"How long will it last?"  Tiff interjected.

"Weeks probably, at the most I'd say two months."

"TWO MONTHS!"  Amber and Tiffany looked horrified at the thought of being stuck with each other's hair for two whole months.  

They left the classroom dejectedly, and joined their friends who all had their normal hair colour back.  Tiff looked as though she could almost cry.

"You stole my hair,"  she pouted.  "You stole mine too."  Amber wailed.

"Aww… poor girlies,"  Sirius patted them both on the head.  

"I think we should go to the library, I've heard that's where vampires spend their free time,"  James said with a wry glance at Tiff who was pouting in an even more childish manner than usual.  

"Yes, we can play 'guess the hot mystery vampire who chewed Tiffy's neck'."  Sirius grinned, as Tiff just sighed heavily.  

"I am never going to live this down, am I?"

"Just wait until we find out who it was, **then** you'll never be able to live it down."  Sirius nodded truthfully, whilst Tiff sighed again.  "Aww, not really precious, come on, lets go to the library."  

"No, I'm not really in the mood, plus I have something to take care of.  I'll catch you all later,"  Tiff turned and walked off without another word, leaving the others with a feeling of impending guilt. 

  Tiff wandered through the winding corridors and narrow passages, quite unaware of exactly where she was going until she arrived at her destination.  She sat on the floor, leaning against a cold, hard stone wall.  She waited, for what seemed like hours, but must only have been fifteen minutes at the most.  Out of the shadows a figure came striding towards her, Tiff stood to meet him, answering the inevitable question that he was about to ask.  

"I'm here to see Professor Dumbledore,"  she said determinedly.  Professor Jonathon Mondoc sighed, a look of heaviness in his tired eyes.  

"Very well,"  he replied.  Tiff was unnerved that he didn't question her reasons for being there, but at least she was getting to see Dumbledore, who could hopefully explain a few things that had been troubling her.  "Cherry Drop,"  Mondoc uttered the password, at which, a gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside to reveal a secret entrance.  Tiff stepped through the gap in between the walls and onto the spiral staircase, which was slowly revolving upwards towards a sturdy oak door with a brass lions-head for a door knocker.  At the top, she glanced at Mondoc, who nodded in reply.  She raised her hand to knock on the door, (completely ignoring the brass lion) when the door opened of its own accord.  An old man with a long greying beard looked up from the book he was reading and smiled warmly at the visitors.  

"Ah, Miss Zabini I've been expecting a visit from you sometime."  Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with superior knowledge.  He nodded at Mondoc, and gestured towards two chairs for them to sit down.  Tiff sat then glanced towards Mondoc cautiously.  

"Professor…"   she began.  

"Tiffany, anything you can say to me, you can say in front of Jonathon.  In fact, I think he might be able to explain some things better than I."

  Tiff frowned.  This wasn't what she'd had in mind.  

"Erm… ok.  Well…"  She took several breaths.  "There are several things that have been bothering me.  Ok, the first and most obvious one is my parents.  I want to know what's happening with them.  Why is Voldemort so interested in them joining the Dark Side?  What's so special about them?  And what did they give you?"  Tiff said all of this very quickly, a dynamic spark in her violet eyes. 

Dumbledore smiled.  "Alas, so many questions, yet so many that may go unanswered."  Dumbledore sighed heavily, as if his age was overcoming him. "The most important thing you should know is why Voldemort wants them on his side.  You may or may not be aware that he is also attempting to recruit the Potters…  but the relevance of that is of little concern that this very moment."  He paused to take a breath.  "A prophecy has been revealed to a seer.  A seer who works for Voldemort…"  Dumbledore gave Tiff a sideways glance; causing her eyes to harden as she said without a trace of emotion, "Zane."  

  Dumbledore nodded silently. "Our spies on the Dark Side alerted us of the prediction, which we immediately set to work on."

Tiff paused unsurely, then tentatively said; "What is the prophecy?"  even though deep down she had a terrible feeling that she wouldn't want to know.  

Dumbledore and Mondoc exchanged a glance, then the elderly wizard took out a piece of parchment from a draw, put on his half moon spectacles and cleared his throat.

"A descendant of Zabrian blood will overthrow the Dark Lord, claiming his throne either as the Princess of Darkness or the Queen of Light. Which path she follows will depend entirely upon her heart's desires. "

Tiff frowned slightly.  "But… what does that mean?"

Dumbledore looked pensive as he regarded her with sad, weary blue eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul.  The look in his eyes set alarm bells ringing in Tiff's ears.

"It means…  that Voldemort will attempt to kill every female descendant of the Zabini bloodline.  And that's the very least he'll do.  The Dark Lord cannot afford to be overthrown, and he will take every precaution to ensure that he isn't."  The alarm bell had turned into a blaring siren, screaming a warning to her parents who were in so much danger that it was sickening.

"B… but… but where are they?  Why aren't they in a safe house and more importantly why is the Ministry not protecting them?  They should be protecting my parents not making them work for them!"  Tiff was unaware that she was on her feet and shouting, tears streaming down her cheeks.  Jonathon rose to his feet to try and calm her, but was unsuccessful as she held him off with a glare alone.  

"That was exactly my question.  But your parents swore me to secrecy against the Ministry.  They'd rather do good while they can rather than be locked away in some safe house…"

"But they're going to die!"  Tiff choked through her tears.  Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Nobody knows that Tiffany,"  he said rather sternly.  "But they'd much rather die fighting for good than hiding from the darkness."  This was evidently the right thing to say to Tiffany as her tears ceased and she looked more dignified and proud.  

"I know they would, but…"  Tiffany frowned thoughtfully.  "Why does he want my parents?  My dad carries the Zabini name and he's not female… so why would Voldemort want them because of that prophecy?"  

Dumbledore's brow was furrowed, as the contemplating how best to answer this question.  

"Your parents,  and James' too, are powerful Aurors.  In fact, they are the best.  The four together are unbeatable.  If Voldemort had their combined strength then darkness would ensue."  

"But… that means that… oh my goodness.  The only female descendants of the Zabini line are me and Alexia!"  Panic flooded through Tiff.  "Alexia…"  she gulped, her eyes were very wide and scared, resembling those of a frightened deer.  

"Do not be alarmed.  Alexia is well protected in her boarding school, and I fear no harm will come to her there.  As for you however…  as long as you're at Hogwarts you will be safe, but never leave the castle alone.  Always travel with a large group, just in case."  Dumbledore shifted in his chair.  

"Yes, but…"

"You're both safe while you remain in school.  Trust me Tiffany…"  She nodded with a shaky affirmation.  There was a long moment of heavy silence.  Tiff, whose tears had gradually disappeared, rose to her feet again and started towards the door.  

"Thank you Professor, for explaining things to me," she smiled sadly, then walked through the heavy oak door frame.  

"Tiffany?"  Dumbledore called.  She turned on the heel.  "Come to me on your sixteenth birthday and we'll have another chat.  Bring the box,"  he said, his eyes sparkling.  Tiff nodded and left the room, filled with a new determination and a sense of purpose.  She headed for the library and joined her friends, where quite glad to see her.  Lily complained that she'd been left with a group of sex obsessed boys, who were drooling over PlayWizard's centrefold, and Amber who proved herself far worse than any boy when she remarked on the size of the blonde witch's chest and asked cheekily what she was planning to do with the wand!  Tiff had raised an amused eyebrow at this comment and promptly "rescued" poor Lily.  The group laughed rambunctiously at another of Amber's jokes, this one involved Severus Snape, a muggle and Professor Trelawney in a cupboard with enchanted objects and should not for any amount of wizarding gold, be repeated!  

  If a stranger were to look upon the scene they would smile, remembering their days as carefree adolescents.  But the peaceful atmosphere wouldn't last long.  This was simply the calm before the storm…

As February approached…


	9. Becoming

a/n: I realise it's more than a year since I've updated, but I love this story too much to just leave it. I can't guarantee I'll ever finish it, but it's closer to the end now, so I'll try my best and see how I go. Just bear with me... :p 

Special thanks go out to: 

Louise - my fantastic beta, without whom I would never have gotten this far. 

Emma - who's never stopped pushing me to write.

Holly - for giving me the confidence to post this

and for Adam - who's always there. 

Please read and review. All feedback is appreciated. 

* * *

Chapter Nine - Becoming

The low light of the candle danced softly upon the chamber wall. The flame was tiring after many hours use and soon the room would be immersed in complete darkness. But that did not worry the couple in the room. They cared not for the light, nor for anything else at that moment other than each other. 

Remus kissed Amber passionately; his hands roamed over her body, caressing her curves and tracing patterns on her skin with smooth fingertips that ignited a fire deep within her . She sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around his lithe body, digging her nails into the small of his back as the moment grew intensely heated. She trailed her hands across his bare chest and along the base of his stomach. Remus shivered with arousal, uttering a moan of longing as Amber's hands disappeared under his waistband. She stroked him skilfully, eliciting a soft growl from the young werewolf. Remus pulled her underwear off as fast as his hands would allow: Amber slowly pulled his boxer shorts down, her hazy brown eyes never left his. She shivered under his touch, his fingers caressed her gently but purposefully. She pulled him closer to her, so that their bodies were aligned. Remus smiled at her, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. 

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. Amber nodded, claiming his mouth with her own passionate kisses. 

His hands buried themselves in her hair whilst he entered her slowly, moving gently at first then harder, with sharp, deep thrusts that made Amber cry out in elation. They moved together rhythmically, like dancers. Amber kissed him intensely; her tongue wrestled with his as she lost all self-control and succumbed to her the torturous pleasure that came crashing like waves into a cove. She wrapped her legs around him, clenched her fists, thighs and arched her back in ecstasy as she fought to stay quiet. 

After all, James, Sirius and Peter were fast asleep in the next beds.

They relaxed and shared a mutual sigh; both were secretly relieved that no-one had discovered their intimate moment. Remus wrapped an arm around Amber, drawing her close he planted a tender kiss upon her forehead. Amber looked up at him with her gleaming chestnut eyes and smiled contentedly. 

"You're so beautiful," Remus whispered; her smile grew wider and truer. 

"Thank you," she replied. "You haven't told me that for at least a day," she grinned. Remus poked her playfully. 

"Well I'll leave it two days before I compliment you again, shall I?" Amber made a 'hmph'ing sound and snuggled deeper into the crook of his arm. Remus pulled a quilt over them, tucking it protectively around Amber's soft shape. She smiled again and hugged his naked torso, kissing his chest lightly. 

"Remus..?"

"Hmm..?" he responded sleepily.

"I love you," she said softly, whilst listening to the beat of his heart as his chest rose and fell in time with hers. He ruffled her hair lovingly, which still held the platinum blonde colouring of Tiffany's locks after the botched Potions experiment. 

"I love you more.." he replied with a sly smile. 

"No, I love _you _more.." she giggled. They carried on in the same vein until they fell asleep in each others' arms. A faint rumbling of thunder could be heard distantly around the far perimeter of the Forbidden Forest, signifying the approach of a storm... 

* * *

"Wakey wakey Tiffy-Birthday!" Tiffany forced her sleepy eyes open to witness Amber Carrington doing a ridiculous dance in a pair of very skimpy pyjamas.

"WhatareyoudoingI'mtryingtosleep," Tiff groaned incoherently; she growled as Amber snatched the quilt away as part of her insane dance.

"It's your birthday! Wake up! You have presents!" Amber shrieked, bouncing with excitement. 'Presents' seemed to rouse Tiffany's interest slightly.

"Oh ok.. Let me get dressed then.." she said tediously as Amber hugged her ecstatically. 

Amber bounded down the spiral stairs and into the Common Room half naked, only to be sent back by a stern Remus who insisted she follow Tiff's example of putting on clothes. 

Five minutes later, the gang assembled in the vacant Common Room, for everyone else was having breakfast in the Great Hall. 

"Wow... you're sixteen Tiff, how does it feel?" asked Lily.

"Erm.. it feels... good?" she replied, her eyebrows raised as though she were puzzled. 

"As good as steamy, randy fully frontal sex with your secret lover?" James teased, stepping back just in time to avoid a vicious jab from a glaring Tiffany. 

"Actually, it's better than that. Because it's _legal_ steamy, randy full frontal sex with Snape," Tiff grinned mockingly at James's perplexed frown. 

"If I had greasy hair, a crooked nose and wasn't devilishly handsome, charming and witty would you sleep with me?" enquired Sirius with feigned sincerity. Tiffany gave him her sideways glance that she specially reserved for him. 

"Whatever you say Sirius, darling..." She winked at him, but then her attention turned towards the table that glittered like a treasure cove. Sirius pouted like a small child who had just been told Christmas was cancelled. Tiff rolled her eyes and glanced stealthily towards where the presents lay. "Presents. Now." She pounced upon the pile excitedly but took the time to open each gift with great care. Tiff received many gifts, although the most special one was a joint gift from The Marauders, Amber and Lily. They had all pooled their funds together to buy her a cat from Hogsmeade's _Pets for Pleasure and Potions_, as Tiff had been rather down after hearing about the sale of her winged horse. The cat was small and black with two white and black speckled paws. Tiff christened her "Siren". 

"Why Siren? That's an odd name for a cat." Remus enquired with a bemused expression. Sirius almost instantly butted in. 

"Does anyone else see the connection? Siren, Sirius..?" he grinned pointing at the cat, who stared back at him insolently, and then to himself. Tiffany returned the grin and narrowed her eyes mischievously.

"Well, of course that was the idea. After all, who wouldn't name their _cat _after Sirius..? I know a certain Harmen of Ilianna who most probably has..."

"Tiffany! Honestly, you're as bad as them!" Lily scolded whilst Amber and the boys, with the exception of the slow and/or innocent Peter, smirked at Tiff. 

Realistically, Tiff wasn't sure why she had named the cat Siren, but she just felt it suited the cat with cool green eyes. "Thanks so much guys, really, I love her," she smiled happily whilst stroking the sedate cat. 

"Are you coming to breakfast Tiff?" Lily asked whilst magicking away the debris from Tiff's presents. 

"Umm.. I'll probably join you down there... I have to.... send an owl to my parents.." _And go and see Dumbledore about my destiny..._ she added mentally. 

"Ok then," Lily hugged Tiff and kissed her on the cheek. Tiffany grinned as James narrowed his eyes slightly. 

"Jealous are we?" she smirked. James mock-glared back. 

"Oh yes. So jealous that I'm going to take your darling Snape from behind with passionate violence over the Slytherin table." Tiffany gave James a long look. 

"Be my guest. In fact, please do. I'd pay to see the look on his face... ripped and torn..." Tiff grinned maliciously. Amber made a gagging sound that was soon replaced by choking laughter. 

"Hehe... kinda like this..." Amber pulled a face that looked scarily like a constipated McGonagall. 

Tiff laughed. "Yes Amber, that was possibly the most disturbing mental picture I've ever had." 

The Marauders waved goodbye to Tiff and made their way out of the common room. As Tiff turned to go back up the stairs a voice echoed back along the narrow passage. "Bugger, I forgot something, I'll catch you up," Sirius jogged back into the deserted common room. Tiff turned back around to face him. He smiled, standing opposite her. 

"Umm.. soo.. Happy Birthday.." he said bashfully averting his eyes to the wooden floor. Tiff smiled radiantly. "Thanks Sirius... er... is that all you wanted?" she enquired, sweeping the room quickly with her eyes, checking for people. 

"Erm.. well... no.." He boldly took a step closer and enveloped her in his strong arms. Resting his forehead against hers, he gazed into her violet eyes. "I just wanted... to be alone with you for a second... seeing as we never are truly alone.." Tiff cupped his face with her hands, softly caressing his ear lobe.

"I know..." she whispered, touching her lips against his and moving slowly into a kiss. Sirius returned the kiss, lovingly stroking her hair whilst one hand rested on her waist. They stayed like that for several minutes, until they heard a group of rowdy first years climbing through the portrait. They separated, although kept hand and eyes contact for a few seconds before the first small child ran into the room. 

"So, I'll probably see you later then," Tiff said in low tones, catching his eye. 

"Yeah, happy birthday again..." Sirius winked then kissed her on the cheek, much to the amazement of Tiffany and the first years who chorused "Ooooh!" 

"Hey," Sirius mock glared at the children. "If Lily can kiss her, then so can I!" He grinned at Tiff, then exited the common room at a brisk pace. Tiff watched him leave, her eyes fixed on his back until he disappeared from view. The first years looked at her expectantly. Tiff turned to go to her dormitory and they immediately started whispering furiously. 

"..Make a perfect couple.." "...He's soooooo dreamy..." "...I wish she'd look at me like that..." 

Tiff grinned to herself, rolling her eyes in exasperation she strode up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Ten minutes later Tiffany found herself standing next to the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office in a way that some of the more strict teachers would class as 'suspicious loitering'. Clutching the ribbon bound box in her right hand, she looked around at the deserted corridor. A brief sigh escaped her lips as she slumped lazily against the cold stone wall. 

__

How much longer am I going to have to wait? Without warning, she felt a strange tickling sensation around her ankles. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and for a moment Tiffany thought she'd been hit with a curse. That was until she looked into the wide green eyes as she found the source of a purring sound that was Siren. Tiff's heartbeat returned to normal as she laughed softly at her own silliness. She crouched down and the cat jumped onto her shoulder. Finding herself eye to eye with a feline was rather daunting, especially as it had sharper claws than herself. However, there was something odd about this cat. It had a look in its' eyes that was even more suspicious than Tiffany's 'loitering'. A look that told Tiff that the cat knew exactly who she was and exactly what she was doing next to a gargoyle. 

"So... I guess it's just you and me then?" she said to Siren who nuzzled Tiff's ear in a feline nod. 

"Thought so..." Tiff trailed off, following the cats' gaze as it turned its eyes sharply to the corridor from which faint footsteps could be heard. 

Seconds later, Minerva McGonagall walked round the corner, carrying what seemed to be a tray with toast, eggs and sausages on it. She stopped dead when she saw Tiffany, almost losing her grip on the tray. 

"Miss Zabini... Would you care to explain why you are dallying outside the Headmaster's office?" McGonagall said with a stern look.

"I'm waiting to see the Headmaster, Professor." Tiffany replied with a sardonic lilt to her voice. McGonagall narrowed her eyes for a moment, which caused Tiffany to take a step backwards in caution. "Very well," she said, striding towards the gargoyle. "Blackjack." The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside to reveal a narrow, winding staircase. Tiff followed McGonagall up and through the solid oak door at the top of the stairs. In the office Professor Dumbledore was sat behind a desk, reading the Daily Prophet through half moon shaped glasses and shaking his head slightly, looking perturbed. . 

"I brought you some breakfast, Professor." McGonagall set the tray down upon the desk. 

"Ah, thank you Minerva, very kind of you..." Dumbledore took several long gulps from the flagon of pumpkin juice on the tray before continuing his sentence. "And Miss Zabini.. I've been expecting you all morning. Happy Birthday. That's a beautiful cat you have there." He said with a kind smile and a nod at Tiff's shoulder. 

"Thank you sir," Tiff returned the smile and brought a hand up to stroke Siren, who leaned to her touch affectionately. 

Dumbledore turned his eyes to McGonagall and shuffled a few papers around on his desk before retrieving a letter. "Minerva, would it be possible for you to send this letter to Alastor Moody? I'm afraid it's rather important, although I do have urgent business to attend to..." His eyes flicked towards Tiffany momentarily. 

"Of course Professor, right away," said McGonagall with a serious nod. She took the letter from Dumbledore's outstretched hand and nodded briefly to Tiffany before exiting the room.

"Now... Tiffany... Please sit down..." He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. " I believe I have a matter to discuss with you concerning a rather intriguing box..." he said whilst buttering his toast. Tiff placed the box on the surface. Siren sprang down from her shoulder , onto her lap and delicately sniffed the box. Tiffany's gaze passed between Dumbledore, her cat and the box.

"Aren't you going to open it?" he asked gently. Tiffany reached out and unwound the silver ribbon with trembling fingers. She lifted the lid, stared at the contents, and then frowned, wrinkling her nose slightly with disdain.

"Is that it?"

Professor Dumbledore rocked backwards and forwards in his chair, roaring with laughter. He wiped his streaming eyes with a long finger and surveyed Tiff attentively. 

"Oh Tiffany, dear... You must always remember that things are not what they appear to be. Pick it up," he said, gently smiling at her in a grandfatherly way.

Tiff gave Dumbledore a look that said 'No way am I touching that!' 

"I assure you it's quite harmless. And stain free."

Tiff looked down at the infamous "Object". It resembled a jagged lump of coal. The edges were rough, as though the stone had been cut with a blunt axe, however it somehow retained a sense of purity, of indifferent rawness to it. Tiffany reached slowly for it. As her hand closed around the stone she felt an icy chill sweep up her arm and all the way down her spine to the tips of her toes. She instantly let go, recoiling at the surge of dark power. 

"What is it?" she demanded, her steely violet eyes staring fixedly at Dumbledore.

"It's a Black Diamond." He replied, holding her gaze. 

"A what?" Tiffany shook her head, confused. She stroked Siren, who was perched attentively on her knee, for comfort. 

"A Black Diamond." Dumbledore repeated. "One of the only three currently in existence." At this, Tiffany's eyes widened. "Please allow me to explain.. Long ago in ancient Greece there was a mythological Thunder God named Thor. Legend says that he constructed three stones out of lightening, thunder and ice, that would aid the Magickal ones in the new Muggle dominated world. That however, is but a myth.. the true origin of these Stones are unknown, even in the Muggle world they are regarded as a mystery, and are rarer than gold dust. These three "Black Diamonds" are the evolved form of pure white diamond, Muggle science says that they are made from corrupt carbon whereas Native myths say black diamonds are the devil's eyes. Diamonds have always been symbols of strength, courage, invincibility, and ultimately, love. The Black Diamond seems to bring out these qualities in the Bearing witch or wizard. They also have a deep magickal power which when attuned to the Bearer, provides them with a safety net or backup of power. However this can only be used in extreme situations, for example, danger can summon protective energies from the Stone, and extreme distress can cause the Bearer's will to be done..."

"So.. you mean it's involuntary? I mean.. the Bearer can't just.. call on the power..?" Tiff interrupted.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No.. The Stone is part of the Bearer, like the heart or the brain. All power from the Stone is completely subconscious, it cannot be called upon or controlled in any conscious way." Dumbledore smiled ironically. "That is but one of its many inexplicable qualities." The Headmaster cleared his throat before resuming his explanation. 

"Anyway, as I was saying.." he started, however Tiffany interrupted him again almost instantly, her young face strained with confusion and worry.

"Professor - Sorry to interrupt but.. Ok, I'm the Bearer right? That's why I'm here. But _why_? And also how do I 'bear' the Stone..?" she asked quickly, curiosity snatching the reins of her speech. 

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Well, since the days of Thor, there have been Bearers. At first they were chosen by the God himself, then the responsibility was passed down through generations of families. A Bearer is the only one who can wield the Stone's power.. and they are the only person who can keep it safe."

"But if it's so powerful then why does it need someone to keep it safe? Can't it just.." Tiff wiggled her fingers comically. ".. Zap people..?" She asked, a smile played across her face despite the importance of the conversation. Dumbledore grinned, his blue eyes twinkled humorously at her naivety. 

"It's because the Stones are so powerful that they need Bearer's to control them and to keep them safe." Tiffany's smile quickly faded

. 

"The Three Stones have always been housed in separate countries, however something has drawn them to England. Your grandparents were originally from Italy?" He raised his eyebrows in question as Tiff nodded , understanding. 

"Well.. it appears that the Stones are being drawn together for some dark purpose. The combined power of the Stones could bring about the Armageddon."

Tiff gasped and scooted her chair backwards, springing to her feet.

"I don't want it. You keep it." She stared at the Black Diamond in horror; it simply sat there, winking at her like a dark eye. "I don't want it," she repeated softly. 

"I'm sorry Tiffany. This is not a burden one chooses to bear. It is a birthright, a curse if you will. The Stone will reject everyone except a Bearer. I couldn't take it if I tried.." It was then that Tiffany realised Dumbledore hadn't touched the stone at all. When he had said it was 'quite harmless,' he had meant harmless to her..

"It would scald my skin with the a fire colder than an Arctic glacier," he said darkly, as if he had read her mind. Tiffany's hands trembled nervously.

"Give it to another Bearer," she croaked. She was finding it difficult to form sentences.  
Dumbledore looked crestfallen. "But alas, I cannot," his voice was soft and laden with regret.

"But why?" Tiffany cried out painfully, her violet eyes filled with confused tears. He looked at her from the top of his spectacles; his blue eyes burned with such intensity that seemed alien to his kind face. He sighed, then said slowly and deliberately.

"Because... the other bearer is.. Lord Voldemort."

Tiffany stared at him, and then the desk where the stone lay; she sank back into the chair and clutched at Siren like a child would at a teddy bear. Several long minutes passed by, the silence was palpable. Finally, Tiffany lifted her eyes to meet the Headmasters, and she uttered the words that would doom her forever.

"What must I do?"

"You have to ingest the stone. There are other methods of course, such as wearing it as a form of jewellery. However, it is always safer inside the body than out. That way, Voldemort can never lay his hands upon it." Tiff bit down on her lower lip, her hands trembled with fear. She had never faced anything like this before, and she seriously doubted her ability to 'bear' this mysterious Stone. Yet.. she knew that she had to do it. It was her destiny...

"I have to eat it?" She enquired as the word 'ingest' sunk in. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes. You should do it now. If you swallow it like a pill, the Stone will work its way to your heart." he said gently. 

"How will I get it out again?" She asked; the corners of her mouth quirked into a smile as she thought about this. 

"It will leave your body of its own accord when it is time for a new Bearer." Dumbledore nudged forwards a glass of pumpkin juice. Tiff gulped and took up the glass. Her throat suddenly felt dry as cardboard. She drank a few sips, then reached for the diamond. This time there was no ice chill emitting from the Stone, but a pleasant warm radiance that soothed Tiff's nerves. She felt at ease now. The Stone loved her. It would protect her from harm, heal her when she was sick and help her when there was no-one else to help.

Tiff swallowed it with a loud gulp. Her face flushed, her vision blurred and the office was spinning as the Stone worked its way towards her heart. A sharp burst of pain hit Tiff squarely in the chest and she sank to her knees, screaming in agony. The pain left as suddenly as it had come, it was over. Tiffany opened her eyes slowly, not realising they'd been closed. 

"Are you alright Tiffany?" Dumbledore asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

"Surprisingly, I'm fine," she smiled. 

She couldn't explain it, but something inside her had just... clicked into place. She felt complete, strong and wise. There was an overwhelming calmness inside her that made all of her raging fears about being the Bearer evaporate. Dumbledore explained to her that she would have to keep her duty as the Bearer a secret from everyone. Tiffany nodded, she already knew that was what she must do. She was ready to do what she had to do to protect the Stone, and to do that, she had to sacrifice the trust of her friends by lying to them. However, more importantly, she had to stay alive. 


End file.
